The Crow Reboot Banned Real Guns From Set

The Crow, but while the film is revisiting a story familiar to fans of the 1994 film starring Brandon Lee — a film that was itself an adaptation of the 1989 comic book of the same name — there is one thing that Rupert Sanders’ film is doing very differently. The new incarnation of The Crow banned real guns from the film’s set. Speaking with Variety, Sanders explained that that they didn’t have a single weapon that could have either live or blank rounds in them. Instead, they used Airsoft guns or simply rubber or metal decoys.

“Safety is a number one priority,” Sanders said. “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. 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.”

He continued, “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. They’re all Airsoft guns, and some of them are just rubber or metal decoys that are functional but have no firing mechanism.”

The use of non-firing weapons on the set of The Crow is significant for a few reasons. Not only does this come in the aftermath of the 2021 shooting on the set of Rust which resulted in death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, but The Crow has a tragic history with guns itself. During the production of 1994’s The Crow, star Brandon Lee was accidentally shot and killed on set. Sanders went on to explain that, while using Airsoft weapons instead of real weapons was more expensive, it’s an expense he feels was worth it.

“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,” he said. “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.”

What is The Crow About?

Per the synopsis, “Soulmates Eric (Bill Skarsgård) and Shelly (FKA twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.”

The Crow (2024) also stars Josette Simon (Anatomy of a Scandal), Sami Bouajila as the spirit of Kronos, with Isabella Wei and Jordan Bolger also appearing in the film. Rupert Sanders is directing from a script by Zach Baylin (King Richard, Creed III, Bob Marley: One Love) and newcomer William Schneider. The film is based on the comic of the same name created by James O’Barr.

The Crow opens in theaters August 23rd.