Bill Skarsgard to lead The Crow reboot

Bill Skarsgard has been cast as the lead in the long-gestating reboot of The Crow.

The Swedish actor, who is best known for playing Pennywise the Clown in the It franchise, has signed up to play Eric Draven in the new reimagining of the revenge thriller, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He will star alongside singer-songwriter FKA Twigs.

In the 1994 original film, based on James O'Barr's comic book series of the same name, Draven is a murdered musician who is resurrected by a crow to avenge his death and that of his slain fiancée.

The supernatural superhero film is being directed by Ghost in the Shell filmmaker Rupert Sanders from a script written by Oscar-nominated King Richard scribe Zach Baylin. The project is already in pre-production ahead of a shoot in Prague, Czech Republic and Munich, Germany in June.

"The Crow is beautiful, dark, poetic and sometimes disturbing," Sanders said in a statement to Deadline. "It is a story of love, loss, grief and revenge. It is a great honour to revisit James O'Barr's iconic comic and reimagine The Crow as a foreboding voice of today."

The original film starred Brandon Lee, who famously died during production after being struck by a bullet from a prop gun on set. The Crow spawned three sequels and a television series.

Ed Pressman, who produced all three films, has been trying to make a reboot for more than a decade. Most recently, Jason Momoa was tapped to play Draven but that plan fell apart in 2018 when both he and director Corin Hardy departed the project.