After years of shutdowns, postponements, and changes, the reboot of “The Crow” finally seems to be taking shape. Indeed, comedian Bill Skarsgard, the star of “It”, was chosen to play the famous vigilante on the screen. This new film will be directed by Rupert Sanders.
Who is The Crow?
Initially, The Crow is a comic book character created in 1989 by James O’Barr. The latter had written the story of this dark and tortured vigilante following the death of his girlfriend, who died in a car accident because of a drunk driver. If the comics met with confidential success the feature film by Alex Proyas, released in 1994, allows the character to become known to the general public.
Played by Brandon Lee, this violent and morally lacking anti-hero has become a cult favorite for genre lovers and superhero fans. At the time of its release, the feature film brought in more than $50 million at the box office. Its R classification and it’s resolutely dark and violent allowed the work to stand out from other productions of the genre.
The Crow is also unfortunately famous because of the death of Brandon Lee, who died by accident during filming, following the presence of a dummy cartridge (a real bullet but without powder) in one of the weapons used on set. Since 1994, three more movies The Crow have seen the day in almost total silence. But Hollywood has been working on a reboot for a few years now. And things finally seem to be picking up speed.
Bill Skarsgard in the cast
After years of false starts, the reboot of The Crow finally seems to be on the right track. However, it was not won. Indeed, for a while, Stephen Norrington, director of Blade, was to participate in a reboot of the franchise in the mid-2000s. Then it was F. Javier Gutiérrez who was to take care of a reboot of The Crow with Luke Evans as the protagonist in the early 2010s. Again, the project fell through. The last test dates back only a few years when Corin Hardy, director of The Nun had to look into this subject, with Jason Momoa in the title role. But the two men abandoned the project in 2018 in the face of financial and artistic problems between producers and distributors.
But this time, it’s surely the right one. Bill Skarsgard, who played Pennywise in both films just confirmed (via The Hollywood Reporter) in the cast of the reboot of The Crow in the lead role. The feature film will be directed by Rupert Sanders, the director of Snow White and the Hunter, and the American remake of Ghost in the Shell.
Zach Baylin, recently nominated for an Oscar for his work on The Williams Method, will take care of the scenario of this reboot. The project is currently in pre-production and should begin filming in early June in Prague and Munich. The budget would be around $50 million. Obviously, this time the crow will really take flight.
