Can The Crow be a rare superhero film that doesn’t feel washed down by Hollywood? Director Rupert Sanders hopes so as he’s going for something darker and more artful with the upcoming remake.
Speaking with Empire about the upcoming adaptation of the iconic James O’Barr graphic novel, the filmmaker shares his feelings on the project, staying true to the story’s original roots, calling back to the indie vibes of Alex Proyas’ 1994 cult classic, and finding a home outside of the superhero studio machine.
“There’s nothing to do with Hollywood in this movie at all,” says Sanders, who went on to call the $50 million-budgeted film “a very scrappy indie movie.”
Sanders also said that the lower budget and ‘outsider’ POV kept them “able to remain close to the centre, and the darkness and the violence that’s in the graphic novel.” The director explains, “The only reason we could do that is because it’s not a studio movie.”
He believes this style also made him a more efficient director, as he reflects: “You have to be more adept at making things more efficiently, that are emotionally resonant, and not just spectacle.”
Check out the teaser and poster below…
“Soulmates Eric Draven (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (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.”
From director Rupert Sanders, Bill Skarsgård leads the cast of The Crow as Eric Draven, with FKA Twigs co-starring. Danny Huston (30 Days of Night) also stars alongside Laura Birn (Foundation), Sami Bouajila (A Son), and Jordan Bolger (The Woman King).
The Crow hits theaters on August 23rd.
