Bill Skarsgard is adamant his new version of 'The Crow' is "not a remake".
Bill Skarsgard has opened up about starring in The Crow
The 'It' actor has stepped into the role of Eric Draven - previously played by late actor Brandon Lee who was fatally shot on the set of the 1994 movie - for a new version directed by Rupert Sanders and co-starring singer FKA Twigs, but he has insisted the film is "very different" to the first.
Speaking at the premiere in New York on Tuesday (20.08,24), Bill told PEOPLE: "[It was] daunting ... An iconic performance, a tragic thing that happened with Brandon. And for me, I approached this like I do any other job like, 'What's this story? How can I do this story justice?' ...
"We were not remaking that movie, and that was never the intention. I feel like that movie and his performance is iconic and shouldn't be tampered with at all. So I'm glad that we tried to do something very different with it"
The new film is also based on the comic book series by James O'Barr and marks the first big screen adaptation since Lee's version 30 years earlier.
The 1994 film was completed and released after Lee's death.
Director Sanders recently told Vanity Fair magazine thoughts of the tragedy were never far away while they were making the movie.
He said: "[Lee's] soul is very much alive in this film ... [The] terrible tragedy ... [was] definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film ...
"Brandon was an original voice and I think he will always be synonymous with 'The Crow', and I hope he’s proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve brought the story back again."
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