The Crow Reboot Director Explains Bill Skarsgård’s Jokerfied Look

Almost 30 years to the day after The Crow hit theaters in 1994, a new version of the grim revenge tale is arriving—this time around, directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) and starring Bill Skarsgård. Whatever feelings one might have about the remake, the first images of Skarsgård in character are certainly striking.

According to Sanders, the character’s appearance is drawn not from the James O’Barr source-material comic book series, nor tragic star Brandon Lee’s take on the character in Alex Proyas’ original film. Instead, the director considered his star’s natural assets, and gazed into his own past.

“I think the beauty of Bill is that he has a disturbing beauty, and as he transforms through his loss he becomes this thing that even he can’t control,” Sanders told Vanity Fair. “It’s that famous line: ‘Whoever fights monsters must be careful that they don’t become one.’ That look was me in the ’90s when we were squat-raving in London, [mixed with some modern influences] like Post Malone and Lil Peep. I hope people who are 19 today look at him and go, ‘That guy is us.’” Sanders added that this image is from “the moment we realize bad things are coming.”

Not mentioned as an influence: Jared Leto’s Suicide Squad Joker, who had a similar aesthetic to what we see here, albeit with a lot more colorful hair dye. And for those keeping a scrapbook, this is the second eye-poppingly buff Skarsgård torso to hit the internet in under a week, thanks to last week’s reveal of the former Pennywise in a trailer and stills from another revenge flick he has coming up, Boy Kills World.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Crow: “Soulmates Eric Draven (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.” The cast of what’s being described as “a modern reimagining” of the O’Barr graphic novel, despite a plot that sounds exactly like the 1994 film, also includes Danny Huston.

The Crow hits theaters June 7. Will you be checking it out?

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Almost 30 years to the day after The Crow hit theaters in 1994, a new version of the grim revenge tale is arriving—this time around, directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) and starring Bill Skarsgård. Whatever feelings one might have about the remake, the first images of Skarsgård in character are certainly striking.

According to Sanders, the character’s appearance is drawn not from the James O’Barr source-material comic book series, nor tragic star Brandon Lee’s take on the character in Alex Proyas’ original film. Instead, the director considered his star’s natural assets, and gazed into his own past.

“I think the beauty of Bill is that he has a disturbing beauty, and as he transforms through his loss he becomes this thing that even he can’t control,” Sanders told Vanity Fair. “It’s that famous line: ‘Whoever fights monsters must be careful that they don’t become one.’ That look was me in the ’90s when we were squat-raving in London, [mixed with some modern influences] like Post Malone and Lil Peep. I hope people who are 19 today look at him and go, ‘That guy is us.’” Sanders added that this image is from “the moment we realize bad things are coming.”

Not mentioned as an influence: Jared Leto’s Suicide Squad Joker, who had a similar aesthetic to what we see here, albeit with a lot more colorful hair dye. And for those keeping a scrapbook, this is the second eye-poppingly buff Skarsgård torso to hit the internet in under a week, thanks to last week’s reveal of the former Pennywise in a trailer and stills from another revenge flick he has coming up, Boy Kills World.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Crow: “Soulmates Eric Draven (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.” The cast of what’s being described as “a modern reimagining” of the O’Barr graphic novel, despite a plot that sounds exactly like the 1994 film, also includes Danny Huston.

The Crow hits theaters June 7. Will you be checking it out?

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.