Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for the 2024 reimagining of The Crow.

Summary

• The Crow director Rupert Sanders clarifies that the film's ending does not set up a potential sequel after Bill Skarsgård's previous criticisms of it.
• Sanders emphasizes that the emotional ending of the comic book reimagining was carefully crafted through trial and error to provide a decisive conclusion for the protagonist, Eric.
• The reimagined version of The Crow offers a bleak and definitive conclusion for Eric, with no hints of a sequel despite the possibility of one in the future.

already skeptical of the new Crow movie being able to live up to the cult classic legacy of the original.

In an interview with Variety, Sanders does not believe The Crow's ending opens the door for a sequel. Instead, he believes it's a decisive conclusion for the protagonist, Eric, and isn't at all a happy culmination, nor does it tease a second installment, though did recall there being "20 endings" during the editing process. Check out his full comments on the matter below:

Ironically, I don’t think that’s true at all. If there is a sequel down the line, maybe 30 years from now, they’re gonna have to figure out a way to get themselves out of jail a bit because it’s certainly not, “What happens next?” That would be cheap and not the sentiment in which we made the film. Bill and I probably watched five endings together, I probably cut 20 endings.

I think the editing and the cinema language, instead of words, is really what elevates the film. So the ending came out of a lot of trial and error: How do we find this emotional ending? The people you invest in through the whole film are not allowed to be together again, but you want this feeling that it all was worth it. It’s the right ending for the movie and there’s something very decisive about our ending. It’s not expected, it’s not “happy,” and it’s certainly not like, “Wait for the sequel!”

The Crow's Ending Does Not Tease the Promise of a Sequel

Eric Suffers a Tragic Fate

While the 1994 adaptation of James O'Barr's The Crow by Alex Proyas has led to three sequels and a television series, the current adaptation of the comic offers a far bleaker and more definitive conclusion for the protagonist than fully opening the door for a sequel. Upon learning of the truth of Shelly (FKA Twigs), Eric does not know whether her death is worth avenging and begins to have doubts. Because of this, Kronos (Sami Boujailla), a spirit guiding Eric inside a limbo-like purgatory, tells him he will no longer be able to live with her again or reunite with her once his mission is complete.

Having realized that Shelly was possessed by Vincent Roeg's (Danny Huston) voice, Eric makes the ultimate sacrifice of taking her place in Hell should he successfully kill Roeg. Eric completes his mission and is sent back to purgatory, where he sees Shelly being rescued from Hell and resuscitated. Because of Eric's sacrifice, as his love for her is too powerful, Shelly can live again and return to the real world.

The Crow reimagining has been in development since 2008, with everyone from Luke Evans to Tom Hiddleston, Jack Huston, Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, James McAvoy, and Channing Tatum eyed to play Eric.

She wakes up and is reanimated next to the lifeless corpse of Eric, now forced to spend the rest of his eternal life in Hell. The ending is not very hopeful, nor does it tell audiences that more installments are coming. Rather, Eric's story in The Crow has come to a bleak conclusion after he ultimately chooses to save the love of his life as he takes her place within the depths of Hell. Whether this will lead to a sequel remains to be seen, but the story concludes so definitively that the chances of a second installment involving Skarsgård's Eric are quite slim.

Source: Variety