'The Crow' movie reboot unveils first look at Bill Skarsgård in Brandon Lee role
![Portrait of Brendan Morrow](/https/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/authoring/authoring-images/2024/01/16/USAT/72245244007-morrow-brendanjpg.png?crop=842,843,x0,y44&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
"The Crow" will soon be back from the dead once again.
Lionsgate has released the first photos of Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs in "The Crow," which is described as a modern reimagining of the graphic novel by James O'Barr. Skarsgård stars as Eric Draven, a man who is murdered alongside his fiancée (FKA Twigs) and returns from the dead to get his revenge on the killers.
The film, which was directed by Rupert Sanders ("Snow White and the Huntsman"), follows Eric as he traverses "the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right," according to the synopsis.
The photos offered a look at Skarsgård transforming into the title character, and the actor is seen heavily tattooed with makeup around his eyes as he looks into a mirror.
"The Crow" was previously adapted into a 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, who was fatally shot by a prop gun in an accident on set. Work on the film continued after Lee's death, and "The Crow" was released more than a year later. No criminal charges were filed.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Brandon Lee's death:Why wasn't anyone criminally charged?
After cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by a prop gun on the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust" in a similar incident in 2021, Lee's fiancee Eliza Hutton told People, "Twenty eight years ago, I was shattered by the shock and grief of losing the love of my life, Brandon Lee, so senselessly. My heart aches again now for Halyna Hutchins' husband and son, and for all those left in the wake of this avoidable tragedy."
Sanders told Vanity Fair that he thinks of the new "Crow" as 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," he 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."
'Avoidable tragedy':Brandon Lee's fiancee breaks silence after similar 'Rust' shooting death
The director also told Vanity Fair that Skarsgård's look in the movie was inspired by "me in the '90s when we were squat-raving in London" mixed with rappers Post Malone and Lil Peep.
Skarsgård, 33, is best known for his role as Pennywise in the "It" films, and he's coming off playing the main villain in last year's "John Wick: Chapter 4." The actor is also set to play Count Orlok in Robert Eggers' remake of "Nosferatu."
"The Crow" will hit theaters on June 7.