The first images of actor Bill Skarsgård in The Crow have been released by Lionsgate via Vanity Fair, and it’s… quite different from what some fans were expecting.
Director Rupert Sanders claims he was inspired not by the comics, or the original Brandon Lee movie, but instead by the likes of Post Malone and Lil Peep – as well as his OWN LIFE. Let’s just say it ain’t winning the fans over, and many are actually drawing comparisons with Jared Leto‘s Joker character, too.
The director told Vanity Fair:
I think the beauty of Bill is that he has a disturbing beauty, and as he transforms through his loss he becomes this thing that even he can’t control. It’s that famous line: ‘Whoever fights monsters must be careful that they don’t become one.’ That look was me in the ’90s when we were squat-raving in London, [mixed with some modern influences] like Post Malone and Lil Peep. I hope people who are 19 today look at him and go, ‘That guy is us.’”
Sanders added that this image (the one above, I think – which you can see in more detail at the end of this article) is from “the moment we realise bad things are coming.” Well. Actually. The movie isn’t even out until June, but from this image alone I know for a fact bad things are coming!
A jarring change in the story?
Another detail, for the eagle-eyed of you out there, is the change in the story. Here’s that synopsis again; the same one I shared a few days ago, when I was still admittedly very tired, but still trying to be upbeat about this movie.
Soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
In the original story, Eric and Shelley were attacked by thugs in a random street crime after their car broke down – probably because of the way they look. And we KNOW these things happpen. The whole point is that it’s random and unfair. Changing it to be about Shelly’s ‘dark past’ seems nonsensical.
Y’know what might have worked better? A reboot with new characters, and a new story. Bill Skarsgård playing a new character rather than Eric Draven, with a girlfriend or partner who has a dark past we could delve into. Crow vibes, but not in any way trying to be the same characters and story we know and love.
THAT would have fixed everything. Sorry Sanders. I’ll still wait with baited breath and will likely end up watching it anyway (considering the reviews aren’t absolutely terrible), but I can no longer try to be optimistic about this movie.
First-look images
Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think:
And you’ll be able to watch The Crow (if you dare) in cinemas on 7th June, 2024.
What do you think of the look and story of The Crow? Are you still excited for this to happen, or like me, are you finding it a little jarring if you loved the original? Comments and opinions, please!
