The beloved dark superhero flick The Crow is getting a remake decades after its release.
But Alex Proyas, who directed the original 1994 film starring Brandon Lee, is letting it be known he’s not a fan of the upcoming movie’s existence.
“I really don’t get any joy from seeing negativity about any fellow filmmakers work. And I’m certain the cast and crew really had all good intentions, as we all do on any film,” Proyas wrote on Facebook, as reported by Deadline.
“So it pains me to say any more on this topic, but I think the fan’s response speaks volumes,” he went on. “[The Crow] is not just a movie. Brandon Lee died making it, and it was finished as a testament to his lost brilliance and tragic loss. It is his legacy. That’s how it should remain.”
Proyas also linked to an article noting that the remake’s trailer earned many dislikes on YouTube.
Lee, the son of the iconic martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, died in 1993 on the set of The Crow when his co-star Michael Massee accidentally killed him with a shot from a prop gun. He was 28 years old. Massee did not face criminal charges.
In Lionsgate’s remake of The Crow, directed by Rupert Sanders and based on James O’Barr’s comic book series, Bill Skarsgård takes over the titular role while FKA Twigs plays his love interest, Shelly Webster.
When the remake’s trailer came out last week, it was met with mixed reviews on X, formerly Twitter.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Sanders said he hopes the late Lee would be “proud” of the new film.
“Obviously, [Lee’s death] was a terrible tragedy, and it’s definitely something that we’ve always had in mind through the making of the film,” he said in an interview published Feb. 28. “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.”
“His soul is very much alive in this film,” Sanders added. “There’s a real fragility and beauty to his version of the Crow, and I think Bill [Skarsgård] feels like he is a successor to that.”