FKA twigs stars alongside Bill Skarsgård in Rupert Sanders remake of the 1994 cult classic The Crow. FKA twigs portrays Shelly Webster, whose soulmate Eric Draven (Skarsgård), witnesses her brutal murder. Draven, who is also slain, returns from the dead to avenge her, wreaking havoc among their killers. You can see twigs and Skarsgård in the film’s first trailer, below.

“I am so thrilled to be in The Crow alongside the talented Bill Skarsgård and extraordinary director Rupert Sanders,” FKA twigs said in a press statement. “The love Bill and I share on screen is effortless and indicative of the authenticity and ease that I dreamed of bringing to the role of Shelly. Eric and Shelly’s unbreakable unity is so profound and beautiful, something I hope we all feel at least once as part of the human experience. I am so excited that the trailer is being unveiled and even more excited to have the world see the film this summer.”

Skarsgård added: “I was a huge fan of the original film growing up as a kid and was so honored to take on the role of Eric Draven. But really what drew me to it was what Rupert Sanders wanted to do with it. He wanted to completely reimagine the story and the character and tailor it towards a modern audience. It’s a character that I know many revere and have a strong connection to—he is unlike any I’ve ever taken on before. Working with the remarkably talented FKA twigs was magical. I felt a responsibility to Eric’s story and endeavored to stay true to the spirit of the source material; I can’t wait for the world to see the film, and hope it resonates with audiences as strongly as it did with those of us involved.”

Sanders reimagined James O’Barr’s graphic novel with a script by Zach Baylin and William Schneider. The 1994 movie adaptation was directed by Alex Proyas—a film known for its cult status and a tragic history that culminated in the death of lead actor Brandon Lee.

During production, on March 31, 1993, the 28-year-old Lee was filming a scene in which Draven is shot as he walks into a room. Due to an improperly loaded revolver, Lee sustained a fatal wound in his stomach when a blank was propelled out of the gun’s muzzle with nearly the same force as a live round. He died at a hospital hours later.

Speaking of remaking such a storied film, as well as working with twigs and Skarsgård, Sanders wrote:

The Crow is the original anti-superhero. His story is about tragic loss, about dealing with the pain of everything that comes with losing someone you love, something that all of us have or will encounter at some point in our lives. It is about the dark shadow of grief, about what we would do when something so meaningful is taken from us.

The original graphic novel is deeply meaningful for so many, and the character, his journey and his need for revenge has inspired a canon of films for the last three decades. Our version goes back to that graphic novel by James O’Barr, who I had the honour of meeting shortly before production, and explores the love story as the primary drive for our film.

What Alex Proyas did with the Crow in 1994—and Brandon Lee’s iconic embodiment of that character—will forever impact that generation and others to follow. It was a culture-defining film that is beloved to this day and has inspired many other iterations both inside and outside the Crow Universe.

That film sparked a fire with the youth of that day, a youth who grew up on hard, alternative rock, punk and metal, that binged on MTV and zines. It held a mirror to that generation in the aesthetic of the film, its smoky, rain-drenched streets, stylized and subverted sets, its leather-clad hero and chain wielding villains. It expressed its time in a very specific, music-driven vision, that spoke to a young audience who had never been spoken to in that way. It became a cult classic.

Our interpretation of James’ work also reflects this young generation, whose tastes and references have changed so dramatically from the original film. Hopefully it speaks to them in their language, with their style and music and hopefully will get them to discover Alex Proyas’ film and James O’Barr’s graphic novel, bringing a new audience to the source material.

For this story is as universal as an epic poem or Greek myth, it deals with the very primal, naturalistic emotions of love, grief and rage and it also deals with the supernatural and physiological imaginings of heaven and hell, the dead and the undead. It explores the great positive force of love and the great negative force of rage and hate that stands in its shadow, it asks what would we do, but also what would we have become by doing so. When Eric slumps to the floor, covered in the blood of the slain, we look deep into his eyes and he asks us…why?

I am very pleased to have worked with two young actors whose performances are the backbone of this film. Bill Skarsgård is so committed and vulnerable, monstrously violent and delicately tender, he brings so many layers to the complex emotion of a man consumed with so much love and hate, but also a man who will do anything for the woman he loves. He fights, numb with pain and grief, killing and maiming for the one he loves…but to what end? FKA twigs brings the same unique and wondrous talent that she does to her entire volume of work and her performance and the vacuum created by her absence undoubtedly gives reason for this Crow to be born.