Bill Skarsgård’s The Crow mocked for “looking like Jared Leto’s Joker”

Official photos of The Crow remake have been released with a first look at Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven – leading fans to compare him to the well-known DCEU villain, The Joker.

The Crow remake has been a long time coming with a premiere date set in early June 2024. But die-hard fans of the franchise who saw Brandon Lee bring the comic book character to life weren’t convinced. The legacy Lee left behind is a hard one to master, much less a remake. After his initial portrayal, a franchise ensued that was less than well-received.

Skarsgård was announced to take on the role of Eric Draven. A musician brought back from the dead to avenge his and his fiancé’s murder. Curiosity piqued at how the IT actor would be able to pull off the character, as Eric Draven had a discernable look and makeup.

The first-look photos of Skarsgård in The Crow remake have many shaking their heads and comparing him to Jared Leto’s Joker.

Eric Draven gets tattoos and a mullet

Bill Skarsgård becomes a different version of Eric Draven than what fans were expecting. An official first look reveals him shirtless and adorning various tattoos. Everything from tiny red crosses to an abstract face on his left pec.

In the original movie, Eric had no tattoos but did have a lean and muscular frame the same as Skarsgård. There’s also the iconic The Crow makeup. Returning to his home, Eric uses white theater paint to cover his face and black paint to create his joker-like smile.

Skarsgård’s version threw away the white paint and opted for blacked-out eyes and a subtle joker grin. But initial reactions to the new look of Eric Draven have everyone comparing it to Jared Leto’s Joker. It might be the mismatched tattoos.

“Why the F does he look like Jared Leto Suicide Squad Joker,” said one X/Twitter user. With another simply saying, “It’s giving” with an image of Leto’s Joker.

Even artist BossLogic commented, “FIRST LOOK / I see more Joker than The Crow.”

“Like half the appeal of The Crow is how cool he looks. Now he looks like that fucking Florida Joker from GTA. What is this sh*t,” said another.

“Can we stop the ‘Suicide Squad Joker’ tattoo thing? No one does it right and then you end up with a nipple eye tattoo,” said one fan commenting on the use of various tattoos.

Other fans were dismayed to realize the reboot decided against the character’s iconic long hair. “I get that they probably don’t want to try and copy Brandon’s iconic look and legacy but the long hair is missed…it feels a bit off but I do love Bill,” chimed in one fan.

But someone pointed out that the other official stills of the movie, including FKA Twigs, reveal Skarsgård’s character has mullet-style hair that’s more comic-book accurate. The official trailer is yet to be released and it will decide if die-hard fans will be convinced to hit the theaters to watch it.