The Crow Star Bill Skarsgård Knows Exactly What Went Wrong With The Remake
by Ryan Scott · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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The world waited 30 years for a remake of "The Crow," and to say it wasn't worth the wait would be an understatement. Now, that movie's star, Bill Skarsgard, has opened up about the experience. When it comes to what went wrong, Skarsgard has a pretty good idea.
A lot of actors almost played the Crow before Skarsgard got stuck with it, but the movie focuses on soulmates Eric and Shelly who are brutally murdered. Eric is given a chance to save the love of his life and has to traverse the worlds of the living and the dead in search of revenge. Rupert Sanders ("Snow White and the Huntsman") wound up in the director's chair.
That partnership wasn't fruitful. "The Crow" was dubbed a "dull, lifeless, meaningless remake" by /Film at the time. It also wasn't a success commercially. On a recent episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, Skarsgard reflected on the 2024 movie's failure. What it really comes down to is a rush job that went into production without a finished script:
"I think the lesson was that I'm not signing on to anything without a finished script. But it's surprising how common it is that something gets green-lit and then you're struggling with finishing the script because the dates are already set and the studio's already locked everything in motion. And it's like, 'Oh, the script needed...'"
There is a long dark history behind "The Crow" franchise, most notably the death of the original movie's star Brandon Lee towards the end of production. To state the obvious, making a bad movie isn't anywhere near on that level, but there is something to be said for this seeming doomed from the outset.
The Crow still wasn't ready to be made when it finally got made
"That was something that Rupert [Sanders] and I just struggled with," Bill Skarsgard added. "We were like, 'Okay, the first script came in two months before we started to shoot.' It was an insanely rushed process in that regard. But I don't regret any of the roles that I've done. And I think they could be good experiences; they could be bad experiences. But how you learn from them is really what it's about."
Hollywood had been attempting to remake "The Crow" for years before it finally happened. Many actors and directors came and went over the years. Nothing materialized. "Aquaman" himself Jason Momoa got very, very close to making it back in 2018. But days before filming was set to begin, it all fell apart. "The Crow" remake was dead again as both Momoa and director Corin Hardy exited.
It never totally died though and, eventually, it came around to Bill Skarsgard. On paper, he was a good fit for the role. But you can only polish a turd so well and, if the script is a turd, he can only do so much.
"The Crow" remake bombed at the box office, pulling in just $24 million worldwide against terrible reviews. At the very least, Skarsgard walked away with an important lesson and doesn't have any regrets. He's just very unlikely to sign on for a potential franchise role again if the script isn't airtight.