If it feels like a new take on The Crow has been in development for 15 years, that's perhaps because a new take on The Crow has been in development for, well, 15 years at least. Yet after a revolving door of directors, writers and potential leads, it's finally headed our way this year, with Bill Skarsgård playing the tragic Eric Draven and Rupert Sanders directing. Check out the first images from the new adaptation of James O'Barr's graphic novel above and below.
O'Barr's original story focuses on Eric, a young man who, along with his fiancee Shelly, is brutally assaulted and slaughtered by a gang when their car breaks down. Eric is resurrected by a supernatural crow to stalk and seek vengeance against those responsible for the crime. Alex Proyas' 1994 film retooled the story around rock musician Eric Draven, who is murdered along with his fiancee Shelly on Devil's Night in Detroit and hunts down their killers.
The movie based on Barr's tale became infamous for the on-set death of star Brandon Lee following an accident with a blank gun round. The film was followed by three sequels of less repute critically and commercially; The Crow: City of Angels, starring Vincent Perez in 1996, The Crow: Salvation starring Eric Mabius in 2000 and The Crow: Wicked Prayer in 2005, which had Edward Furlong in the lead. There was even a late-1990s TV series that featured Mark Dacascos.
Quite how Sanders' version (written by King Richard's Zach Baylin alongside William Schneider) tweaks the narrative remains to be seen — the basic official synopsis points to a recognisable tale of murder and mystical vengeance, this take on Eric (Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA Twigs) killed and his being brought back to track down those responsible.
And the tone? "I grew up listening to Joy Division and the Cure, and this movie is a bit like a Cure song – the beauty of melancholy," Sanders told Vanity Fair.
A picture reveal surely means a trailer can't be far behind, but for now see what you think of Skarsgård's look in particular ahead of the film's landing on 7 June.