‘The Crow’ Remake Star Distances Himself from Brandon Lee’s Performance

Bill Skarsgård, the star of the upcoming The Crow remake, has distanced himself from Brandon Lee’s iconic performance in the original 1994 film. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Skarsgård stated that he approached the role with a focus on doing justice to the story itself. He said that while he respects Lee’s performance, the original portrayal did not significantly influence his approach.

Warning: Spoilers for some details in the The Crow (1994)

According to Skarsgård’s comments to People (thanks, ScreenRant), the new film is a “modern reimagining” of the original graphic novel, which he says is very different from a remake of the 1994 film. He explained that the original film and Lee’s performance are iconic and should not be tampered with. Lee was shot while filming a scene where his character shows his newfound immortality to the people who killed his fiancé. He tragically died due to his injuries.

An iconic performance, a tragic thing that happened with Brandon, and for me, I approached this like I do any other job like, ‘What’s this story? How can I do this story justice?’

Bill Skarsgård

While that sounds good, it is somewhat contradictory to what the director, Rupert Sanders, has said. Sanders told Vanity Fair that Lee’s “soul is very much alive in this film” and that the “terrible tragedy” was on his mind as he made this film. He added that Skarsgård feels like he is a “successor” to Lee’s portrayal of The Crow. So, it’s pretty hard to say that the new film can distance itself from Lee’s performance completely.

The story for both movies is based on the same graphic novel, The Crow. The film follows a man named Eric (played by Skarsgård and Lee in the movies), who is resurrected after his murder to take revenge on those who killed him and his fiancée.

Regardless of how much the actors try to distance themselves from the original, fans will compare the two movies. Lee’s tragic death and his iconic portrayal of The Crow have made him a beloved figure in popular culture, and it’s hard to imagine ignoring his contribution to the franchise.