'The Crow' director on bringing 'hope and magic' to new adaptation
The new film adaptation of "The Crow" is walking a tightrope -- paying homage to the source material and a beloved past iteration all while being its own thing.
In the movie, now in theaters, Bill Skarsgård plays Eric Draven -- a man who is resurrected after he and his fiancee Shelly (FKA twigs) are murdered and sets out on a revenge mission as the titular figure, The Crow, in the hopes of resurrecting Shelly.
Skarsgård told "Good Morning America" at the film's New York City premiere that he's "a huge fan" of the 1989 comic book series from James O'Barr, and Alex Proyas' 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, and thought the new version "was an apt challenge to undertake."
Lee died tragically at the age of 28 in 1993 after being fatally shot on the set of "The Crow" by a prop gun.
He called Lee's career-defining portrayal of Draven "undeniably iconic," noting that his goal was to make his interpretation of the character "as truthful and as real as I can."
"I'm trying to do this version of it and this movie as much justice as I can," he added.
Rupert Sanders, the new film's director, told "GMA" he loves "the dark, emotional, Gothic love story" at the heart of "The Crow."
"I think, as an artist, you're always looking for material that resonates with you," he said. "We all go through loss, we all go through grief, we all go through love."
Calling it a "universal story," the filmmaker said it's "a mythical fable, in a way, as much as it is a comic book movie."
As for what made Skarsgård and FKA twigs the perfect Eric and Shelly, he noted their "naturalistic" approach to acting and their unique vibes as why he cast them.
"Bill has this incredible empathy, but also is quite terrifying when he wants to be," he said of the "IT" actor.
"Twigs is kind of a magical, otherworldly being," Sanders continued of the "Two Weeks" singer. "And there's something about this film where, unless you really love them as much as they love each other, you won't go on that journey. I think for the audience to lose Twigs halfway through the movie, we feel the loss that [Skarsgård's Eric] feels, so that we'll go on that violent mission with him."
He added, "That was really important. I didn't want to make just a nihilistic revenge movie, I wanted there to be a sense of hope and magic to the movie."
FKA twigs told "GMA" her connection to Skarsgård "very natural," explaining that it was a "blessing" the majority of the movie was shot in sequence so their chemistry could grow organically.
"So as Bill and I got to know each other and became more comfortable, the scenes in the movie grew, and Eric and Shelley's love grew for each other," she said. "So I think you can see in the film that we become more comfortable with each other in our body language and the way we touched and the way that we communicated with each other."
"I know that doesn't happen every time," FKA twigs continued, "but you're kind of just seeing two people that are fond of each other getting to know each other kind of platonically outside of set as well as in love on set through the characters."
"The Crow" is now in theaters.
