Alex Proyas, who directed 1994’s The Crow, has disavowed the upcoming remake in the wake of last week’s trailer release.
Proyas posted a strongly worded statement on his Facebook page today, writing that the original The Crow was finished as “a testament to [Brandon Lee’s] lost brilliance and tragic loss.” Lee passed away in 1993 due to an accident on the set of The Crow.
See Proyas’ full statement below:
I really don’t get any joy from seeing negativity about any fellow filmmakers work. And I’m certain the cast and crew really had all good intentions, as we all do on any film. So it pains me to say any more on this topic, but I think the fan’s response speaks volumes. THE CROW is not just a movie. Brandon Lee died making it, and it was finished as a testament to his lost brilliance and tragic loss. It is his legacy. That’s how it should remain.
In regard to the “fans’ response” Proyas mentioned, he also linked to a CBR.com article with the headline “The Crow Remake Trailer Gets Staggering Amount of Dislikes on YouTube.”
This isn’t the first time that Proyas has insisted The Crow shouldn’t be remade, however. He said as much in a 2017 Facebook post, writing at the time that the “notion of ‘rebooting’ this story, and the original character – a character Brandon gave life to at too high a cost – seems wrong to me.”
Brandon Lee, the son of Hollywood legend Bruce Lee, died at the age of 28 after being wounded by a prop gun on the set of the original. His performance was widely praised after The Crow was released to commercial and critical success, and his tragic death spurred conversations that continue today about the importance of on-set safety.
The Crow remake will hit theaters on June 7, starring Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven, aka The Crow. For his part, Rupert Sanders, who’s directing the remake, told Vanity Fair that he considered the new film as something of a tribute to Lee.
“Obviously, it was a terrible tragedy, and it’s definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film,” Sanders said. “Brandon was an original voice and I think he will always be synonymous with The Crow and I hope he’s proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve brought the story back again. His soul is very much alive in this film. There’s a real fragility and beauty to his version of the Crow, and I think Bill feels like he is a successor to that.”
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
