The recently confirmed reboot of The Crow film franchise has been met with great backlash, despite it being ridiculous. It was announced earlier in 2022 that filming on The Crow reboot would begin this summer with shooting locations that include the Czech Republic and . Rupert Sanders will direct off a script written by King Richard's Zach Baylin. Bill Skarsgård is set to star as Eric Draven, the vengeful spirit that leads the series.
Fortunately for the mass of talent attached to this project, very little of the existing backlash has to do with the cast or crew themselves. The 1994 film adaptation of James O'Barr's The Crow comic reigns as a beloved cult classic thanks to the efforts of its leading man, Brandon Lee, and to the dark but stylish aesthetic that permeates throughout its runtime. Coupled with the general reboot fatigue being felt by modern audiences, Rupert Sanders' The Crow is off to a predictably challenging start. However, there are still plenty of reasons to believe that The Crow reboot can successfully rebuild the franchise.
The proven experience of the cast involved and the strength of the original source material makes The Crow the one property that should be reimagined through the lens of modern Hollywood. Cinema's current entanglement with the superhero genre cannot be understated. While naysayers might claim that the 1994 movie should never be remade, the truth is that it's the original comic book that is being adapted again for the big screen. If celebrated comic book adaptations couldn't be revisited over the years, the Batman film franchise would never have seen Christopher Nolan's heralded Dark Knight Trilogy or Matt Reeves' more recent take on the characters.
Bill Skarsgård's name is especially promising for the future of the property as he's proven doubters wrong before. Skarsgård played Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the 2017 reboot of Stephen King's It. At the time, he was an unexpected choice. But Skarsgård went on to surprise everyone by creating a wholly terrifying rendition of the Stephen King monster while also helping to remake a book adaptation that was thought to be untouchable. The Crow is a similar situation. Skarsgård has proven himself capable of exactly this feat and shouldn't be underestimated before his performance as Eric Draven is seen.
Of course, The Crow fans have reasons to be skeptical. The series has endured many questionable contributions since the 1994 film. In 1999, there was even a version of The Crow pitched to include Eminem and DMX. While Brandon Lee led the first film to success, making over $93 million at the global box office, each subsequent installment performed worse than the last. Actors like Edward Furlong and Kirsten Dunst would find the poorest-received parts of their resume playing characters in The Crow franchise. None of those films, however, had the benefit of an Academy-nominated writer penning the screenplay. The strengths Baylin brought to King Richard should silence those critical of the reboot, as the writer will provide those same boons to the cast of The Crow.
While the series has experienced its ups and downs, the stars have aligned for The Crow movie reboot to possibly deliver its most powerful live-action adaptation yet. While skeptics have plenty of fuel for their criticisms thanks to the franchise's history, The Crow isn't just another Hollywood reboot. An incredible amount of talent has gathered to adapt the source material for a new audience and to pay respects to the great efforts that helped the property become a cherished cult phenomenon.
