The Crow Remake Already Made A Huge Change To Eric’s Revenge Mission

The first trailer for the remake of The Crow gives a taste of what this new version of Eric Draven’s revenge mission will be like, and it shows a huge change in his return from the dead. Based on the 1989 comic book series of the same name by James O’Barr, The Crow is a remake of the 1994 movie of the same name directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee. The 1994 version is now a cult classic, but after a couple of unsuccessful sequels, the franchise is being revived with a remake directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Bill Skarsgård.

The Crow tells the story of musician Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and his fiancée Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs), who are murdered at their home. Some time after their deaths, Eric is brought back to life by a crow, which also grants him invulnerability, and so he goes on a revenge mission against his and Shelly’s murderers. The Crow remake is already facing some controversy due to the changes Sanders and company made to the 1994 film, and among these changes is one about Eric’s mission, as the terms of his resurrection seem to be very different.

Eric’s Mission In The Crow Remake Could Bring Shelly Back

The Crow remake follows the same premise as the 1994 version but with notable changes that have already sparked online debate. The first images of Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven weren’t well-received and were even compared to Jared Leto’s Joker, and unfortunately, the first trailer for The Crow remake didn’t do much to ease concerns about the story and its portrayal of Eric Draven. In this version, Eric seems to go through some sort of ritual in the afterlife to bring him back to life, while in the 1994 version, a crow taps on his grave and resurrects him.

Lee’s Eric then experiences a series of flashbacks of his and Shelly’s murders and sets out to avenge himself and her, guided by the crow. At the end of The Crow, Eric completes his revenge and returns to Shelly’s grace, where her spirit arrives to comfort him and return his body to rest. While it’s expected that Skarsgård’s Eric will go through the same, the trailer shows a significant change in his mission, as a voiceover narration implies that Eric can bring Shelly back.

In the trailer, the male voice that explains the legend of the crow and tells Eric he was given “the power of a god” also says that he’s running out of time to save her. The trailer also shows brief scenes of Shelly drowning and Eric swimming towards her, supporting the idea that Eric was brought back to not just avenge his and Shelly’s deaths but potentially bring her back. However, it’s unclear if this race against the clock is just to resurrect Shelly or if it would also bring him back, and if it’s just the former, it would give Eric’s mission an extra layer of emotion.

The Crow Remake Has Already Changed Eric & Shelly’s Relationship

The 1994 version of The Crow didn’t explore Eric and Shelly’s relationship, only showing bits of it in painful flashbacks that Eric experienced after returning from the dead. This worked in the film’s favor as these flashbacks added to the mystery of Eric’s character and showed enough for the audience to see that what they had was special and strong, making the tragedy of their deaths even more painful. Eric not being given a chance to resurrect Shelly and simply using his time back on Earth to avenge her and his death also made his journey a lot more powerful, as he was driven by pain and anger.

The Crow remake is already making changes to Eric and Shelly’s relationship by focusing more on it and exploring how they met and more. In the trailer, Eric and Shelly seem to have met in a hospital, and Shelly had some connection to their murderers as she “saw things she shouldn’t have seen”. While this can make their deaths even more tragic, it can also backfire as it already feels like too much and even feels forced, and adding the possibility of saving Shelly doesn’t help.

Instead of being moved by anger and pain and a desire to get rid of the evil that killed them, Eric’s main goal in The Crow remake will be rushing against the clock to bring Shelly back, which takes away what made Brandon Lee’s Eric’s journey so interesting.