The Crow remake director hits back at Bill Skarsgård’s criticism of the film

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Kelly Rissman

US News Reporter

The director of The Crow remake has hit back at Bill Skarsgård’s criticism of the finished film.

In the reboot, It star Skarsgård plays the role originally made famous by Brandon Lee. The film has become one of the worst-reviewed films of the year since it was released in cinemas earlier this month.

Directed by Rupert Sanders, the film marks the first sequel in the Crow franchise to receive a cinema release since 1996’s The Crow: City of Angels, but reactions from fans suggest it might have been smarter to dump the movie on streaming rather than give it a full unveiling.

One person who was not too happy with the end product is Skarsgård, who recently criticised the film’s ending.

“I personally preferred something more definitive,” he told Esquire of the film’s closing scenes, which he believes leaves things open for a sequel.

However, Sanders disagrees with Skarsgård assessment, telling Variety: “Ironically, I don’t think that’s true at all.”

He continued: “If there is a sequel down the line, maybe 30 years from now, they’re gonna have to figure out a way to get themselves out of jail a bit because it’s certainly not, “What happens next?” That would be cheap and not the sentiment in which we made the film. Bill and I probably watched five endings together, I probably cut 20 endings.

Sanders said he thinks “the editing and the cinema language, instead of words, is really what elevates the film”, adding: “So the ending came out of a lot of trial and error: How do we find this emotional ending? The people you invest in through the whole film are not allowed to be together again, but you want this feeling that it all was worth it.

“It’s the right ending for the movie and there’s something very decisive about our ending. It’s not expected, it’s not ‘happy’ and it’s certainly not like, Wait for the sequel!’

Fortunately for Skarsgård, it seems the film’s dismal box office takings will prevent any follow-ups from ever being made.