The original The Crow starring Brandon Lee (legendary Bruce Lee’s son) devastated fans following the death of the lead star in a gun accident on set. The movie has become a cult classic but fans still mourn the death of Lee. Now, as the movie is getting a reboot after three decades, the upcoming movie The Crow director Rupert Sanders has taken extreme safety measures to avoid such devastating tragedy on the set of the new film by banning real guns on set.
Rupert Sanders Prioritizes Safety Over Anything
Rupert Sanders, who previously directed Ghost in the Shell, Snow White and the Huntsman, and The Life, has helmed the upcoming movie The Crow, which will be a reboot of the original movie of the same name starring Brandon Lee, released in 1994. The Crow is set to hit the theaters in August, and stars Bill Skarsgård and FKA twigs.
“Safety is a number one priority,” Sanders told Variety. “Film sets are very dangerous. There are fast moving cars with cranes stuck on the top. There are stunt guys falling on high wires down steps. Even just walking around a set at night with rain machines and lights — you’re working in an industrial environment,” he continued. “So it’s dangerous. You have to be safe. The first day I met with the special effects department and the armorer, who was great, in Prague. They were very safety-conscious. They follow all the same guidelines as the military when dealing with weapons, but I didn’t even want to risk that.”
Brandon Lee’s tragic demise stemmed from an accident in the prop department. A similar incident occurred on the set of Rust in 2021. The movie’s lead Alec Baldwin was presented with real rounds in a prop gun which eventually killed the movie’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Rupert Sanders Explained Safety Measures While Filming The Crow
The Crow was filmed with caution as revealed by the director. Sanders was keen on avoiding any on-set disaster that could potentially lead to a tragedy. In doing so, he made it clear that no live rounds or blank rounds were allowed anywhere near the location of the set.
“So I said, categorically, ‘We will have no firing weapons on set,’ which means we didn’t have one gun that could have had a live round or a blank round anywhere near it ever, so that no projectile could go in,” the director said. “They’re all Airsoft guns, and some of them are just rubber or metal decoys that are functional but have no firing mechanism.”
The director further revealed that Airsoft guns have several advantages. “The beauty of the Airsoft is that the slide on a Glock will still move back, but then you have to add the shell casing.”
“You have to add a muzzle flash and smoke, but that was a price worth paying. It took a fair bit of money out of my very limited visual effects budget, but I think it was worth it. The visual effects on this movie were very much in-camera. We were mainly a location shoot with set extension. So you have to balance where you spend the money when you don’t have a massive budget to do visual effects. But to me, that was a very worthwhile spend for everyone’s safety and comfort going into this project.”
Bill Skarsgård who made his name known with It, John Wick 4, and Boy Kills World plays Eric Draven alongside FKA Twigs who plays his love interest Shelly— both were brutally killed but Draven returns from the dead with powers to revenge the killing of his girlfriend.
The Crow is set for theatrical release on August 23.
