The Crow Reboot – Everything We Know So Far

"The Crow," Brandon Lee's fateful 1994 film — the movie that launched a 1000 goths — is getting a reboot. A whole new generation of angsty teens will (potentially) get their own opportunity to fall in love with Eric Draven, a brooding, tragic noir hero ripped from the pages of a decidedly '80s comic. 

"The Crow" began as an indie-darling comic, created by then-unknown James O'Barr. When the property was adapted for Hollywood film, it exploded into the popular consciousness — thanks, in part, to the untimely death of the lead actor, Brandon Lee. As the creator told Dallas Observer in 2016, he was "totally unprepared for the success of the movie." A friend of the late Lee, O'Barr stated he was "against any kid of sequel" to "The Crow" out of fear that it would "cheapen what I thought was Brandon's legacy."

Now, 28 years after the original movie adaptation debuted, and after many, many failed attempts to continue the franchise, a reboot might actually revive the undead vigilante.     

On April 1, 2022, news broke that "The Crow" reboot was happening. Despite The Hollywood Reporter (THR) reporting it on April Fools' Day — the fake news holiday — the announcement is legit. Bill Skarsgård, best known for portraying Pennywise the Clown in Andrés Muschietti's "It" movies, stars as Eric Draven, the man who comes back from the dead to avenge his fiancée. THR reports that Rupert Sanders is directing the project, which is estimated to have a budget close to $50 million, and using a script written by Zach Baylin. Cameras will begin rolling in June of this year.

Whether the news gives you thrills or chills really depends on your relationship to the material. No doubt there are fans of the comic who are hungry to see Eric Draven back in live action — but there are also probably fans of Brandon Lee out there who feel that the original 1994 film is enough. I'm somewhere in the middle. More than anything, it's hard to believe that the "Crow" reboot is actually happening, after the sad history of lackluster sequels and the underrated, short-lived TV series (starring the always-excellent Mark Dacascos).

"The Crow" looks to follow the content of the 1994 movie and the original comic series. Since Skarsgård is playing Eric Draven — and not one of the other characters resurrected by The Crow in the comics — it's likely that the reboot's story will follow the same basic story beats that most audiences are familiar with: Eric and his fiancée, Shelly, are attacked by gang members and murdered. A year later, the supernatural entity known as The Crow resurrects Eric so that he can seek vengeance. Now with his own supernatural abilities (he's invulnerable), Eric takes down the gang, killing the members responsible for Shelly's death one-by-one. It's pretty straight-forward "revenge-fantasy" fare. 

While the supernatural comic book "The Crow" was first published in 1989, the story has continued in various series in the years since — there's even been a female version of The Crow, appearing in the 1996 series "The Crow: Flesh & Blood," written by James Vance and drawn by Alexander Maleev. It's possible that Baylin's script incorporates elements from other stories, or will even depart creatively from the established canon. Chances are though that the core themes and signature aesthetic will remain: angst and leather, baby!

So far, there are a few names attached to "The Crow" reboot. Bill Skarsgård will star — and although he's not exactly known for action roles (though he does have an upcoming appearance in "John Wick 4"), he does have a similar look as the original comics iteration. Other notable characters, like the gang members or Officer Albrecht, have yet to be announced. Once these details are made public, it will be easier to get a sense of the direction the reboot is taking with the source material. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, British singer FKA Twigs is co-starring as the girlfriend/fiancée. The role is, apparently, being expanded beyond the original, so it could be a version of Shelly, a version of Sarah (the secondary protagonist in the 1994 movie), or a combination of both; however, THR also suggests in the same article that this movie is a "re-imagining," which means really, anything goes.   

Danny Huston also joined the cast in late August, per THR, in a yet-to-be-revealed role.