The Crow’s Original Sequel Plans Would Have Changed The Franchise Completely

“The Crow,” director Alex Proyas’s 1994 gothic catnip film, may be one of the best films of the ’90s. Based on the 1989 comic books by James O’Barr, “The Crow” follows a young musician named Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) who is beaten to death along with his girlfriend. But the mysterious crow flies to the afterlife and retrieves Eric’s soul. Now dead, Eric sets out on a mission to avenge his killers. He paints his face like a gothic clown, dons a leather Edward Scissorhands costume, and becomes a bloodthirsty vigilante. “The Crow” is well-loved by a certain group of Gen-Xers, and its soundtrack is amazing.

But since then, “The Crow” has expanded in every direction. Over the years, there have been three series, a TV series, and an absolutely terrible reboot in 2024 – and these are just the ones that have actually been produced. There were also a series of “Crow” films that were not produced. In fact, large groups of actors/directors/writers have been attached to the new “Crows” films over a period of 30 years.

The first installment actually produced was a near-future remake of MTV’s original called “The Crow: City of Angels.” It starred Vincent Perez and Mia Kirshner. Iggy Pop was in it. However, it didn’t do very well, and bombed at the box office. The bloom was from a black rose bouquet.

Before “City of Angels” came out, the trend toward unmade “Crow” sequels began almost immediately. Writer David S. Goyer said in a 1996 issue of Sci-Fi Entertainment Magazine that in 1995, he was already working on two ideas for a “Crow” sequel that never saw the light of day. One of them took place in the 1880s in London.

The 1994 film “The Crow” is indelibly marked by the accidental murder of its star, Brandon Lee. The prop gun misfired during the action sequence, killing him. Goyer felt that looking into a sequel was odd, as Lee would necessarily need to be replaced. But he also noted that “The Crow” is still a great story, and that there are still stories to be told. Goyer’s final idea was simple enough, and was used, at least in part, in “City of Angels.”

“I started thinking: What if we told Sarah’s story as an adult?” That’s what made me go for it.”

Sarah was the young narrator of The Crow, played by actress Rochelle Davis. In City of Angels, set 15 years later, Sarah is a tattoo artist who meets a second man who is revived by a magic bird. While Goyer was able to write City of Angels with an adult Sarah, he admitted that “the movie we made wasn’t exactly the movie I wanted to make initially.” Actually, he had two ideas. In one, Sarah He was Crow.

“I wanted to have a female Crow in the second movie, and I wanted it to be Sarah – I thought that would be kind of the most interesting twist, to have a female Crow. And no one could make any comparisons to Brandon Lee if the character was female.”

Goyer’s other idea was not to move forward, but to return to the past. He had the idea that the Crow would feel at home on the streets of London in 1888:

“My second idea was to do Gaslight Crow, a film set in Victorian England, where I was going to pit the Victorian crow against Jack the Ripper.”

Sounds epic. It could have been Steampunk before it had a name. Unfortunately, Goyer clashed with the higher-ups at Miramax, and had to make something similar to the original “The Crow.” Hence, he ran with his idea of ​​Sarah as an adult, but gave the Crow mantle to an entirely new male character. However, Goyer wishes he could have been more creative, saying:

“I really wanted to do something completely different, but it was a big battle with Miramax. They were intent on making this movie similar to the first one. We ended up coming to a compromise, somewhere in between. If I had had experts, it would have been a female crow all the way.”

Goyer noted that James O’Barr, the original creator of “The Crow” comic books, was also keen on the idea of ​​gender-flipping the Crow character for a sequel, although Goyer and O’Barr never consulted on the matter. It’s unfortunate that “City of Angels” was a bomb, and the series’ momentum stalled. There was a third film in 2000 called The Crow: Redemption, but it was barely shown in theaters and few saw it. It was not written by Goyer and does not have a female title character. Instead, the Crow was played by actor Eric Mabius.