Original The Crow director Alex Proyas is still very mad about the remake

Proyas, who wasn't involved with the Crow sequels, sees the original film as star Brandon Lee's "legacy"

By Sam Barsanti  |  March 18, 2024 | 10:21pm
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Original The Crow director Alex Proyas is still very mad about the remake
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The Crow (the new one) Photo: Larry Horricks, Lionsgate

Get your “likely place for him to be” memes ready, because original The Crow director Alex Proyas has A Problem with Rupert Sanders’ new Crow remake… just like the problem he’s had with every other attempt to reboot The Crow. But he’s not alone in his lack of faith in the new Crow, since a lot of old Crow fans were pretty unhappy with the recent trailer for the Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs-starring remake (one clever comment on YouTube said: “Original movie has angry Crow, this movie has angry Crowd”).

Proyas, who shared his disappointment in a Facebook post, took negative reactions like that as a win, but his issue has never been with the quality of any potential Crow remakes. Instead, he thinks touching the original in any way does a disservice to original star Brandon Lee (who was shot while making it in an accident mirrored by the similar tragedy on the set of Rust). Here’s what Proyas had to say on Facebook:

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.

Years ago, Proyas argued that, while there had been a bunch of other Crow movies since the original, retelling the first film’s origin story “seems wrong” because that’s the one associated to Brandon Lee. It’s also worth noting that none of the other Crow movies are actually about the same character that Lee played (Eric Draven), and also that Proyas wasn’t involved in any of the Crow movies beyond the first one. So he makes a solid case for the original movie and character specifically belonging to Brandon Lee—though, seeing as how they already made this new one, it’s probably too late to do anything about it.

The Crow (2024) Official Trailer – Bill Skarsgård, FKA twigs, Danny Huston

As a side note, Crow scholars will remember that there was a relatively well-received Crow TV show in the late-‘90s called Stairway To Heaven that did retell the story of the movie, with Mark Dacascos playing Eric Draven, but Proyas’ objection is apparently specifically about movies. Also, shockingly, another performer was killed in a stunt accident during the making of that show, which somehow didn’t dissuade everyone from trying to do The Crow again. Finally, if you’d like a couple of fun facts to log for future nerdery, Brandon Lee’s stunt double on The Crow was Chad Stahelski, who later went on to direct Mark Dacascos in John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum. Fun, right? Enough to make up for how much of a downer the rest of his has been?

 
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