Victims, aren’t we all? Well, Eric Draven is at least, and we’re not talking about his Devil’s Night death. When the first look at Bill Skarsgård’s version of the character arrived earlier this week, the reception was poor to say the least. One peek at this new Eric Draven and pretty much one thing came to everybody’s mind: Jared Leto as The Joker. Complete with a tattoo above the eyebrow and one that even let his left nipple stand in for an eyeball, the look has been widely blasted by fans and even those directly linked to the 1994 cult favorite. Now, someone tied very closely to Leto’s Joker, David Ayer, has chimed in…although his dig is a little more subtle than most.
Responding to a post showing Skarsgård as Eric Draven in the upcoming reboot, David Ayer said nothing, only laying down a sly side-eye emoji. This is clearly in reference to just how similar the updated look is to The Joker as featured in Ayer’s Suicide Squad, a design that itself has rightly received criticism. Considering Ayer himself has gone on to criticize The Joker’s look – particularly the “Damaged” face tattoo – it’s pretty obvious he thinks Eric Draven’s new style missed the mark.
And he’s not alone, although original The Crow director Alex Proyas was a lot more blunt about his take on Eric Draven ‘24, mocking the Dominik Mysterio haircut, awful tattoos and beer of choice. “Eric Draven’s having a bad hair day. Next reboot thanks…I guess he’s supposed to be a bad mofo with all those tats and werewolves and skulls on his jacket…Samuel Adams! Jesus! He could at least drink something more bad-ass…”
We all get protective of movies we love when a remake or reboot is announced. And while many were skeptical from the get-go of The Crow franchise being resurrected (it only had one great entry anyway), the first look at Skarsgård’s Eric Draven undoubtedly impaled any hopes there may have been. The Crow arrives on June 7th, a confident spot that will see it opening against Bad Boys 4.
What was your first reaction to seeing Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven? Could he pull off the character?