Mentions of murder, abuse, and death.
Summary
- The Crow franchise has multiple actors playing the title character due to different mediums and adaptations.
- The first film from 1994, starring Brandon Lee, was a critical and commercial success, becoming a cult classic.
- A 2024 version of The Crow stars Bill Skarsgård, continuing the dark, gothic theme of avenging murders.
The Crow has become a franchise with various novels, comic books, movies, and a TV series, and because of this, different actors have played the title character. In 1989, the supernatural superhero comic book The Crow was published. Created by James O’Barr, The Crow is the story of a young man named Eric and his fiancée Shelly. After their car breaks down, Eric and Shelly are assaulted by a gang of street thugs, who shoot Eric in the head and brutally assault Shelly before killing her. Eric later dies at the hospital, but Shelly is dead on arrival.
Eric is later resurrected by a crow and goes on a revenge mission against his and Shelly’s murderers, with the crow as his guide. The crow provides Eric with the information he needs for his quest but also chastises him for dwelling on Shelly’s death. O’Barr created The Crow as a way to cope with the death of his fiancée, and it became an underground success. The Crow was first adapted into a film in 1994, which was both a critical and commercial success, becoming a cult classic.
Related The Crow Almost Got A Weird Futuristic Reboot By A Controversial Horror Director (& I’m Glad It Never Happened)
Before the 2024 The Crow remake, the franchise was almost rebooted with a weird, futuristic movie by a now-controversial horror director.
The success of The Crow led to a media franchise that continued in print with more novels and comic books but also in film. The Crow franchise has a total of five movies, though not all of them got theatrical releases. The franchise also has one live-action TV series, but it’s worth noting that not all of these had Eric as the main character. Because of this, each movie in The Crow franchise and the TV series has a different lead actor, all of them bringing something different to their characters.
7 Brandon Lee – The Crow (1994)
Brandon Lee Famously Portrayed Eric Draven In The First Movie
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The legend says a crow carried souls to the land of the dead, and if the person died in tragic circumstances, the crow could resurrect their restless spirit to set things right.
The most famous portrayal of The Crow is that of Brandon Lee in the first film adaptation of the comics. Directed by Alex Proyas, The Crow follows Eric Draven, a young musician living in a crime-ridden and decrepit Detroit with his fiancée, Shelly Webster. On Devil’s Night, a gang broke into their apartment and brutally assaulted Shelly, while Eric was shot and thrown to his death from the window. Shelly died at the hospital, and a year later, a crow landed on Eric’s gravestone and tapped on it, resurrecting him.
The legend says a crow carried souls to the land of the dead, and if the person died in tragic circumstances, the crow could resurrect their restless spirit to set things right. Eric returned guided by the crow and with the ability to heal from any wound. Eric succeeded in killing his and Shelly’s murderers as well as their boss, and Shelly’s spirit returned to comfort him and take him to eternal rest.
Brandon Lee died during the production of The Crow when he was fatally wounded by a prop gun while filming the scene of Eric’s murder. Proyas’ The Crow is dedicated to Lee and his fiancée, Eliza Hutton, who was key to the completion of the movie.
Read More Why The Crow’s End Credits Dedication Reads “For Brandon and Eliza” (Not Just “For Brandon”)
After Brandon Lee’s devastating accidental death on the set of the cult classic The Crow, the film was completed and honored him and Eliza Hutton.
6 Chad Stahelski – The Crow (1994)
Chard Stahelski Was Key In The Making Of The Crow
Chad Stahelski, who was Brandon Lee’s stunt double in some scenes, was used as a stand-in to complete The Crow.
Proyas’ The Crow wasn’t filmed in order, so by the time they shot the scene of Eric’s death, Brandon Lee had completed most of his scenes and only had three more days to go. The cast and crew took a break following Lee’s death and the flashback scenes were rewritten as they were the ones that had yet to be completed. Chad Stahelski, who was Lee’s stunt double in some scenes, was used as a stand-in for those scenes. A digital face replacement was used to superimpose Lee’s face onto the head of Stahelski.
The beginning of The Crow was also unfinished when Lee died, so it was rewritten and the apartment scene was remade with computer graphics from another scene with Lee. After The Crow, Stahelski continued working as a stuntman in various projects, including The Matrix franchise, and in 2014, he made his directorial debut as co-director of John Wick. Stahelski has since directed all John Wick movies in the franchise, and served as producer of the spinoff movie Ballerina.
5 Vincent Pérez – The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
Vincent Pérez Played Ashe Corven
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The Crow: City of Angels
followed Ashe Corven, a mechanic who was killed by drug kingpin Judah Earl along with his eight-year-old son, Danny.
The Crow’s success led to sequels that ended up being forgettable. The first one was The Crow: City of Angels, directed by Tim Pope and written by David S. Goyer. Labeled as a standalone sequel to Proyas’ film, The Crow: City of Angels followed Ashe Corven (Vincent Pérez), a mechanic who was killed by drug kingpin Judah Earl along with his eight-year-old son Danny after they witnessed Judah’s henchmen killing a man. Just like Eric Draven, Ashe was resurrected by the crow sometime later to avenge his and his son’s deaths.
At the end of The Crow: City of Angels, and after dying for a couple of minutes and coming back to life, Ashe completed his revenge mission and killed Judah and his henchmen. However, in the process, Sarah, now an adult, also died as she accompanied Ashe on his quest. Vincent Perez is a Swiss actor, director, and photographer, and The Crow: City of Angels was his first English-language movie. Some of Perez’s most notable projects after The Crow: City of Angels are Queen of the Damned (where he played Marius de Romanus), Alone in Berlin, and At Eternity’s Gate.
4 Mark Dacascos – The Crow: Stairway To Heaven (1998)
Mark Dacascos Played Eric Draven
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The Crow: Stairway To Heaven
was another adaptation of O’Barr’s comics, meaning it followed Eric Draven’s story just as seen in Proyas’ movie.
The Crow: City of Angels was a flop, but that didn’t stop the franchise from continuing to expand. Before another movie was made, the franchise branched out to TV with the series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, created by Bryce Zabel. The series aired from September 1998 to May 1999 and consisted of 22 episodes. The Crow: Stairway To Heaven was another adaptation of O’Barr’s comics, meaning it followed Eric Draven’s story just as seen in Proyas’ movie: Eric (Mark Dacascos) and Shelly were murdered, and a year later, Eric was resurrected to avenge their deaths and reunite with Shelly.
Just like Lee’s version, Dacascos’ Eric got powers when he was brought back to life, as were regenerative powers, enhanced strength, and immortality. Despite getting positive reviews, The Crow: Stairway To Heaven was canceled after one season when Universal Studios acquired the series’ production company Polygram and decided not to continue with the show. Although a TV movie and a miniseries were planned to give the show proper closure, they never happened. Some of Mark Dacascos’ most notable projects after The Crow: Stairway To Heaven are John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Hawaii Five-0, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Wu Assassins.
3 Eric Mabius – The Crow: Salvation (2000)
Eric Mabius Played Alexander Frederick Corvis
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The Crow: Salvation
followed Alexander Frederick Corvis, who was framed for the murder of his girlfriend, Lauren, and executed.
After The Crow: Stairway To Heaven, the franchise returned to movies with The Crow: Salvation. Directed by Bharat Nalluri, The Crow: Salvation followed Alexander Frederick Corvis (Eric Mabius), who was framed for the murder of his girlfriend, Lauren, and executed. Some time later, Alex was resurrected by the crow and given the now well-known supernatural abilities that would help him avenge Lauren’s death. With the help of Lauren’s sister, Erin, Alex completed his mission and his soul was finally able to rest and reunite with Lauren.
The Crow: Salvation was panned by critics, which led its distributor to cancel its planned wide theatrical release. Instead, The Crow: Salvation was released direct-to-video after a limited theatrical run, and still got bad reviews. Following The Crow: Salvation, Eric Mabius played Matt Addison in Resident Evil, Tim Haspel in The L Word, Daniel Meade in Ugly Betty, Oliver O’Toole in Signed, Sealed, Delivered, and Jack Nesbitt in Chicago Fire.
The Crow: Salvation
wasn’t Eric Mabius’ introduction to the world of
The Crow
, as he auditioned for the role of Eric Draven in Proyas’ movie and for the role of Funboy, which eventually went to Michael Massee (via
Cinefantastique
).
2 Edward Furlong – The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)
Edward Furlong Played James Cuervo
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The Crow: Wicked Prayer
followed James “Jimmy” Cuervo, a young man who got out of prison after killing a rapist and planned to start a new life with his girlfriend.
The failure of The Crow: Salvation didn’t stop the franchise from going ahead with another movie. Titled The Crow: Wicked Prayer, it was directed by Lance Mungia and served as a standalone sequel to Salvation. The Crow: Wicked Prayer followed James “Jimmy” Cuervo (Edward Furlong), a young man who got out of prison after killing a rapist. Jimmy planned to start a new life with his girlfriend, Lily, but they were victims of a Satanic biker gang that murdered them as part of a ritual to reawaken the Antichrist. Not long after, the crow arrived to resurrect Jimmy, and so his revenge quest began.
The Crow: Wicked Prayer got a one-week theatrical release before a direct-to-video release. The Crow: Wicked Prayer was a massive critical failure, and holds a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on just a couple of reviews. By the time The Crow: Wicked Prayer was released, Edward Furlong was already very well-known thanks to his roles as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Danny Vinyard in American History X. After Wicked Prayer, some of Furlong’s most notable projects were The Green Hornet, CSI: NY, and Star Trek: Renegades.
1 Bill Skarsgård (The Crow)
Bill Skarsgård Played Eric In The 2024 Adaptation
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The Crow
follows musician Eric and his fiancée Shelly, who are brutally murdered by the henchmen of demonic crime lord Vincent Roeg.
In 2024, The Crow franchise was brought back to life with another film adaptation of O’Barr’s comic books. Simply titled The Crow, the movie is directed by Rupert Sanders and stars Bill Skarsgård as Eric. The Crow, then, follows musician Eric and his fiancée Shelly, who are brutally murdered by the henchmen of demonic crime lord Vincent Roeg. Eric is brought back to life by the crow with the chance to save Shelly by sacrificing himself, and so he sets out on his revenge mission against Roeg and his men.
Sanders’ The Crow isn’t a remake of Proyas’ movie, instead being another adaptation of the comic books that kicked off the franchise. Bill Skarsgård is best known for his work in the horror genre, having played Pennywise in Andy Muschietti’s It movies and the TV series It: Welcome to Derry, Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, Roman Godfrey on Netflix’s Hemlock Grove, and The Kid in Castle Rock. Outside the horror genre, Skarsgård played Vincent de Gramont in John Wick: Chapter 4 and Boy in Boy Kills World.
Source: Cinefantastique.
The Crow
The Crow is a dark, gothic franchise centered on Eric Draven, who is resurrected by a mystical crow to avenge his and his fiancée’s murders. Originating as a comic by James O’Barr, it became a cult-favorite 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, known for its tragic themes and Lee’s on-set death. A 2024 remake of the film stars Bill Skarsgård.
Movie(s) The Crow , The Crow: City of Angels , The Crow (2024) Created by James O’Barr
Summary
The Crow is a dark, gothic franchise centered on Eric Draven, who is resurrected by a mystical crow to avenge his and his fiancée’s murders. Originating as a comic by James O’Barr, it became a cult-favorite 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, known for its tragic themes and Lee’s on-set death. A 2024 remake of the film stars Bill Skarsgård.
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