The Real Reason Bill Skarsgård’s Dark Fantasy Reboot Flopped Explained

Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com Published Nov 10, 2026, 4:56 PM EST Grant Hermanns is a TV News Editor, Interview Host and Reviewer for ScreenRant, having joined the team in early 2021. He got his start in the industry with Moviepilot, followed by working at ComingSoon.net. When not indulging in his love of film/TV, Grant is making his way through his gaming backlog and exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Bill Skarsgård doesn't regret his reboot of The Crow, but does have an idea of why it failed. Based on James O'Barr's graphic novel of the same name, Skarsgård led the 2024 dark fantasy thriller as Eric Draven, a young man who, along with his girlfriend, is brutally murdered by a mysterious crime lord, only to be resurrected with regenerative abilities in order to hunt down those responsible. Also starring FKA Twigs, Danny Huston, Josette Simon and Laura Birn, The Crow infamously released to largely negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing just $24.1 million against its $50 million production budget. Now, during an appearance on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast for Netflix's The Mosquito Bowl, Skarsgård reflected on The Crow's failure. The star explained that the biggest lesson he took away from his dark fantasy reboot's failure is that he will no longer "sign on to anything without a finished script," sharing that it is "common" in Hollywood that "something gets greenlit, and then you're struggling with finishing the script." As the ball continues rolling and "the dates are already set and the studio's already locked everything in," a film like The Crow suddenly finds itself in a dangerous region in which the cast and crew are working without a clear direction for the project, something Skarsgård said he and director Ruper Sanders "struggled with" throughout its production: Bill Skarsgård: The first script came in two months before we started to shoot. It was an insanely rushed process in that regard. But I don’t regret any of the roles that I’ve done. And I think they could be good experiences; they could be bad experiences. But how you learn from them is really what it’s about. Skarsgård's above indication that The Crow's script came in so close to the start of its production certainly aligns with the film's infamous history of development. Following the string of critically panned direct-to-video sequels, attempts to start the franchise from scratch languished as far back as 2008, with a wide variety of directors, actors and writers coming aboard and leaving the reimagining, some of whom include Jason Momoa, Bradley Cooper and Corin Hardy. It wasn't even until just four months before The Crow's August 2024 release that the writing credits for the new film were settled, with King Richard's Zach Baylin and Return to Silent Hill's William Schneider receiving the joint final credit. All the while, the Writers Guild of America's listing also credited original Crow co-writers David J. Schow and John Shirley, as well as Jack Ryan's Aaron Rabin, with additional material, pointing to rewrites somewhere in the process. Though he's remained fairly diplomatic in his comments about the film, this isn't the first time Skarsgård has confessed some level of disappointment in the reboot. The star previously expressed a level of uncertainty regarding his Crow's ending, feeling it was changed to leave the door open for a sequel, to which Sanders refuted, even while confirming he was having preliminary talks with the studio prior to the film's release of a follow-up to the dark fantasy reboot. Rearrange the movies into the correct US release order. Despite its now-infamous standing in the world of film, Skarsgård's reflection on The Crow is still one showing him to have learned a few valuable lessons from its production, even while not remaining regretful about making it. Additionally, with it giving him a rare moment to shine as a leading action star alongside the Sam Raimi-produced Boy Kills World, the 2024 dark fantasy film is still a unique outing for Skarsgård that may one day find a cult following. Release Date August 23, 2024 Runtime 111 minutes Director Rupert Sanders The Crow (2024) is a dark and gritty reimagining of the original graphic novel. It follows Eric, who is resurrected from the dead to avenge his and his soulmate’s brutal murders. Armed with supernatural abilities, Eric seeks justice against the killers responsible, navigating through a corrupt city that is as much a character as he is. Writers Zach Baylin, William Josef Schneider Producers Edward R. Pressman, John Jencks, Molly Hassell, Samuel Hadida, Victor Hadida Main Genre Action Executive Producer(s) Arianne Fraser, Brett Dahl, Dan Farah, Dan Friedkin, Daniel Steinman, Delphine Perrier, Henry Winterstern, Jay Taylor, Joe Neurauter, Joe Simpson, Johanna Watts, Jon Katz, Jon Spaihts, Jonathan Bross, Juliana Lubin, Ken Halsband, Kevan Van Thompson, Kwesi Dickson, Lorna Soonhee, Malcolm Gray, Micah Green, Philipp Kreuzer, Rupert Sanders, Ryan Kavanaugh, Sam Pressman, Simon Williams, William Josef Schneider Distributor(s) Lionsgate