Bill Skarsgård’s ‘The Crow’ Reboot Bans Real Guns on Set 

The tragic events on the set of the 1994 ‘The Crow’ adaptation, where rising star Brandon Lee was accidentally killed by a prop gun, left a lasting impact on the film industry. With the reboot of ‘The Crow’, the production team was determined to prevent any similar accidents.

Brandon Lee’s death occurred when a prop revolver fired a faulty dummy round, a mistake that proved fatal. More recently, in 2021, a similar incident happened when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live round from a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin. These tragedies weighed heavily on Rupert Sanders, the director of the new ‘The Crow’ adaptation. 

Image Courtesy: IMDb

To prioritise safety, Sanders made the decision to ban real firearms from the set entirely, as reported by Variety. He emphasized that film sets can be inherently dangerous, with various hazards such as fast-moving vehicles, high-wire stunts, and challenging conditions like working in the dark with rain machines and heavy equipment. Given these risks, Sanders was adamant about eliminating the potential danger posed by real guns.

Sanders stated, “We will have no firing weapons on set,” meaning that no guns capable of discharging live or blank rounds were allowed. Instead, the production used Airsoft guns, along with rubber or metal decoys that had no firing mechanism. 

Image Courtesy: IMDb

While Airsoft guns have the advantage of looking realistic with moving slides, they do require additional visual effects to simulate gunfire. Although this added cost to the film’s limited visual effects budget, Sanders believed it was a necessary expense to ensure the safety of the cast and crew.

Starring Bill Skarsgård as Eric and FKA Twigs as Shelly, the new ‘The Crow’ film follows the story of Eric’s resurrection to seek revenge after he and his love are murdered by thugs.

–Farheen Ali