Stuntman Chad Stahelski was close friends with actor Brandon Lee… and when Lee was killed in a tragic accident on the set of the 1994 version of The Crow, director Alex Proyas chose Stahelski to be Lee’s stand-in for the filming of scenes that still needed to be filmed involving Lee’s character Eric Draven. Lee’s face was then placed over Stahelski’s in post-production. Stahelski has gone on to become a director, taking the helm of each film in the John Wick franchise to date… and since he worked with Bill Skarsgard on John Wick: Chapter 4, it’s no surprise to hear that he supports the casting of Skarsgard in The Crow reimagining, which is set to reach theatres on August 23rd.
Commenting on Skarsgard’s performance in John Wick: Chapter 4, Stahelski told Esquire, “I think he’s my best villain ever.” As for his casting in The Crow, “When I heard Bill was doing it, I was like, ‘That’s a good take.’ I knew Bill was going to bring something different. Bill’s got that ethereal nature that makes him feel out of this world, or from another planet or existence.“
As for the painstaking work that went into completing the original The Crow after Lee died, he said, “I had to sit for weeks with Alex Proyas and watch all of the footage. Face replacement was not very big at the time—you had to mimic everything.“
Skarsgard is joined in the cast of The Crow by singer FKA twigs, who takes on the role of Shelly, the love of Eric’s life. Danny Huston (Yellowstone) plays the lead villain. David Bowles (Brothers), Isabella Wei (1899), Laura Birn (A Walk Among the Tombstones), Sami Bouajila (The Bouncer), and Jordan Bolger (Peaky Blinders) are also in the cast.
Here’s the synopsis: Soulmates Eric (Skarsgard) and Shelly (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.
Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) directed this take on The Crow, working from a screenplay by Oscar nominee Zach Baylin (King Richard). The film is produced by Victor Hadida, Molly Hassell, John Jencks, and Edward R. Pressman. Dan Farah serves as executive producer.
Based on the comic book series created by James O’Barr, the first version of The Crow was released in 1994. Following the production of three sequels (each about a different resurrected character), a redux was first announced in late 2008… then it had to make a long journey through development hell. Several screenwriters came and went, scripts were written and scrapped, studios went bankrupt, and directors like Stephen Norrington, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, and Francisco Javier Gutiérrez were all involved along the way. Actors up for the lead role during the long development period included Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, and Jack Huston.
Are you glad to see Chad Stahelski showing support for Bill Skarsgard’s take on The Crow? Share your thoughts on this project by leaving a comment below.