The Crow’s Ernie Hudson Shares Candid Opinion Of Bill Skarsgård’s Taking Over Brandon Lee’s Character

Summary

• Ernie Hudson feels that Brandon Lee will always be
  The Crow
  in his mind, expressing hesitation about the upcoming reboot’s new direction.
• The new
  Crow
  movie faces challenges with honoring the original while attracting a younger audience unfamiliar with Brandon Lee.
• The 2024
  Crow
  reboot has been controversial so far, with people associated with the original film speaking out against it.

Ernie Hudson, who starred opposite Brandon Lee in the original The Crow movie weighs in on Bill Skarsgård’s upcoming reboot. Based on the hit independent comic by James O’Barr, Hudson played the role of Sergeant Daryl Albrecht, the police officer who responded to the brutal murder of Lee’s character Eric Draven and his fiancée Shelly Webster. The original movie’s director, Alex Proyas, along with Hudson’s co-star Rochelle Davis, have each expressed their disappointment off the back of The Crow reboot’s recent trailer and first-look images.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, Hudson admitted that he has not seen the new trailer featuring Skarsgård as Eric Draven. While unable to recall Skarsgård’s name, he admitted that he respected him as an actor, but Lee will always be The Crow in his mind. He also hopes that they “don’t try to re-do him” and put their own spin on the material, rather than just trying to duplicate the original movie. Check out his comments below:

I haven’t seen it. The actor, who — I can’t think of his name — is playing the lead, I love and respect. But, for me,
The Crow
is Brandon Lee. I can’t imagine …
The Crow
is many different stories, let’s hope they don’t try to re-do him, that they do their own thing with it and take it in a different direction. I haven’t seen it, I haven’t seen any of the other
Crow
[movies], because [of] what happened to Brandon.

Can The Crow Reboot Overcome The Initial Fan Hesitation?

While a good deal of online furor seems to be directed at what Davis previously referred to as Skarsgård’s “
dingy, dirty, grungy
” look, there was already a great deal of hesitation about the project before audiences even glimpsed the new Eric Draven.

It is a daunting and difficult task for filmmakers to attempt to reboot a beloved property at the best of times. While countless reboots have all set out with the intention of putting a fresh spin on a popular story, few have managed to strike the delicate balance between honoring the original movie and adding something new. Yet, perhaps far more than any other reboot, the latest reinvention of The Crow also finds itself contending with an outspoken contingent of fans who believe the project should never have even been attempted to begin with.

The reluctance to accept anyone other than Lee as Eric Draven is understandable, given the tragic circumstances surrounding his on-set death and the role the original movie continues to play in honoring his legacy. While a good deal of online furor seems to be directed at what Davis previously referred to as Skarsgård’s “dingy, dirty, grungy” look, there was already a great deal of hesitation about the project before audiences even glimpsed the new Eric Draven.

Even had Skarsgård’s character more closely resembled Lee’s tenure in the role, it is just as likely the movie would have attracted equally fierce criticism about the reboot being a pale imitation of the original. Nonetheless, there is also a considerable number of younger viewers who would be far less familiar with the original movie than many of The Crow reboot’s more vocal detractors, and there is also a possibility this new movie could serve to introduce them to Lee’s iconic version of the character as well.

Source: ComicBook.com