(Updated 04/23/2024)
THE CROW has been reincarnated once again. Originally a little-known comic book character, the Crow became a goth icon thanks to the 1994 movie starring the late Brandon Lee. After a long development cycle, a new version of the movie has been brought to life, with Bill Skarsgård in the title role.
The bones of the story remain familiar, as Skarsgård plays a murdered musician who is brought back to Earth as a dark spirit of vengeance. Check out the first trailer for THE CROW and learn more about this new take on the cult classic.
What's the Release Date for The Crow?
Lionsgate will release THE CROW in movie theaters on August 23, 2024.
Watch the First Trailer for The Crow
This trailer does a lot to show off the tone and look of THE CROW. It is very violent and seemingly less dreamy than the original movie. A few details seem to be changed, but the real focus is on Bill Skarsgård's lead performance.
What's The Crow Trailer Song?
The first trailer for THE CROW features Post Malone's "Take What You Want," featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott. It's not the most obvious choice, but it does connect the trailer musically to some of the aesthetic choices that define this version of the character. (Face tattoos; we're talking about face tattoos.) The song first appeared on Post Malone's 2019 album "Hollywood's Bleeding."
Who's on the Soundtrack for The Crow?
We don't often have any particular expectations about the soundtrack for a particular movie. THE CROW is different. The original movie featured a collection of goth, industrial and grunge bands and a mix of original songs and notable covers. With a tracklist anchored by The Cure's "Burn" and a Nine Inch Nails cover of the Joy Division track "Dead Souls," THE CROW soundtrack is one of the best movie soundtracks of the '90s.
That's a high bar to clear for a remake! We don't yet know what plans are for the soundtrack to the new movie, and we're as eager as any other fan of the original to see what songs are in the movie — or if the producers decide to go with a score instead.
The Crow's Tragic History
This remake of THE CROW has been in development for nearly 20 years. At different points, many actors were attached to play the title role, including Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, and Luke Evans. Part of the reason things took so long is that the original movie has a unique place in film history.
In the early '90s, THE CROW was meant to be the final step to stardom for Brandon Lee, son of action icon Bruce Lee. But the young actor was killed when a prop gun, unknowingly jammed after a previous use on the set, was fired at Lee without being checked. Filming had been mostly complete, so the film was released as a tribute to the actor, but Lee's death still casts a shadow over the project.
Who's in the Cast of The Crow?
As mentioned, Bill Skarsgård, best known as Pennywise the Clown in IT, plays Eric Draven, the murdered man who is given a chance to return to life — sort of — in order to avenge his own killing, and that of his fiancée. Musician FKA Twigs — whose biggest screen role prior to this was a supporting part in HONEY BOY — plays that young woman.
Danny Huston and Isabella Wei play other key roles — Huston, notably, is the villain behind the movie's two inciting murders — and Laura Birn, Sami Bouajila, and Jordan Bolger have roles, too.
What's the Plot of The Crow?
This new version of THE CROW looks somewhat like the original, though some details are different. For one, we're not sure if Eric Draven is still a musician, as he was in the original comic and movie adaptation, but maybe that doesn't matter too much. We will see more of his relationship with Shelly, as suggested by the trailer. Seems like they either met in some sort of recovery program or attended the same one as a couple?
Beyond that, once Draven is dead and brought back to life by the supernatural crow that sets him on a path of vengeance, we expect the broad outline to be the same while a lot of the specifics are quite different. The motivations of Eric and Shelly's killers seems to be different, for example, and that means their takedowns might also be new situations.
THE CROW opens on August 23.
All images courtesy of Lionsgate Films.