Exclusive The Crow clip for SDCC 2024 makes undead revenge look clumsy

An exclusive first look clip at The Raven which Lionsgate released in conjunction with San Diego Comic-Con In 2024, the title character attempts to exact bloody revenge and settles for only the “bloody” part. The film, a new adaptation of James O'Barr's 1989 comic book series of the same name, stars Bill Skarsgård (from He and It: Chapter Two fame) and British performer FKA Twigs as Eric and Shelly, young lovers who are “brutally murdered when the demons of their dark past catch up with them.” Eric then returns from the dead to seek revenge and try to save Shelly's soul.

He initial trailer for The Ravenreleased several months ago, emphasizes that the undead version of Eric has “the powers of a god,” granted so that he can right the injustice of these two murders. But while the SDCC clip throws him into violent combat with some of the men he blames for the murders, he doesn’t come out of it well. It’s not a funny clip — nothing in this sequence suggests we should find her funny when her attempt to gun down her enemies fails — but the tone is certainly notably different from the trailer's attempt to revisit '80s gothic chic with a 2020s horror-thriller aesthetic.

O'Barr Limited Series The Raven It was previously adapted as a film in 1994, which became famous for the Death on the set of its star, Brandon Leein an accident involving a prop gun. That film was a box office hit that achieved low-key cult status, which has made the stakes for this modern adaptation particularly high, meaning comic book fans are likely to scrutinize clips like this one very closely, waiting to see what kind of tone director Rupert Sanders will take. Sanders' reputation isn't the best among fans; his last film was the infamous 2017 Ghost in the shell live-action remake, which shocked A great controversy for the casting of Scarlett Johansson in the lead role.

Here's the SDCC exclusive version of the 2024 poster. The Raven. The film will be released in theaters on August 23.

You can find all of Polygon's coverage of SDCC 2024 News, Trailers, and More Here.

Image: Lionsgate