2024’s The Crow is missing some key characters from the comics and past movie adaptations. The 2024 movie starring Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven takes plenty of liberties when it comes to adapting James O’Barr’s work. The various ways that The Crow 2024 changes the comics was partially an intentional decision to help set the film apart from the original 1994 movie starring Brandon Lee. For anyone familiar with the comics or previous adaptations, taking one look at The Crow‘s cast and characters reveals just how different the movie really is.
While Bill Skarsgård’s Eric Draven is pulled from the comics, FKA twigs’ Shelly is the only other central character in the movie who is not an original creation. This includes Danny Huston’s Vincent Roeg, the film’s main villain with no comic connection, and Sami Bouajila’s Kronos, a reinvented version of Eric’s usual spirit guide. There were indeed opportunities for The Crow‘s ending to include other known characters from the comics and previous movies. By focusing so much time on Eric and Shelly and having a supporting cast of wholly new characters, some notable people from the mythology are left out.
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Every Actor Who Has Played The Crow
The Crow franchise has had different actors playing the title character in movies and TV shows, and not all of them have played Eric Draven.
10 Sherri
From The Comics & 1994 Movie
Sherri is a young girl in The Crow mythology who lives on the street and forms a strong relationship with Eric. She was named Sarah in the 1994 movie, with Rochelle Davis playing the part. Sherri is an important character in the comics and past adaptations because of the friendship she has with Eric. The 1994 movie increased their connection by having Eric watch over her even before he became The Crow due to Sherri’s mother being absent.
Sherri does not have a role in The Crow 2024. The character is completely removed from the adaptation, and it is unknown if she was ever considered to appear. She could have potentially been included as part of Eric’s life before meeting Shelly or after her death. The movie could even have retrofitted her to be one of the younger girls connected to Roeg, adding a fresh interpretation of the character.
9 T-Bird
From The Comics & 1994 Movie
The character of T-Bird is also missing from The Crow 2024. In the comics, he is the head of the gang responsible for killing Eric and Shelly. He appeared in the 1994 movie as David Patrick Kelly played him, but his role was reduced. T-Bird still plays a pivotal role in either iteration of the story, and he could have been part of the 2024 movie’s reimagining to add a layer of comic accuracy to the story.
Instead of using T-Bird as the main villain, The Crow 2024 replaces him with Vincent Roeg. They are very different characters, as T-Bird is just a low-level gang leader and Roeg is a highly successful man with persuasion powers tasked with getting good souls to Hell. Since 2024’s The Crow expanded the supernatural side of the world and ditched the gang involvement in Eric and Shelly’s death, there was no spot for T-Bird.
8 Top Dollar
From The Comics & 1994 Movie
Top Dollar was the main villain of 1994’s The Crow, but he is completely missing from the latest reimagining. Top Dollar was only a small-time drug dealer who sexually assaulted Shelly in the comics. But when the original movie was made, he was elevated to be the head of a criminal empire. The more substantial role for Top Dollar is where his time in the franchise peaked, as he’s now been removed from the 2024 movie and has no connection to Eric Draven’s origin story.
Like T-Bird, there was no clear path to include Top Dollar based on the story and how different The Crow 2024 is to the original movie. Since Eric and Shelly’s deaths occurred through Roeg’s henchmen attacking them, Top Dollar and others become unnecessary. It could have been possible for the movie to include him as a part of Roeg’s group to keep an additional known character in the mix. However, that never happened.
7 T-Bird’s Gang Members
From The Comics & 1994 Movie
The other members of T-Bird’s gang are also nowhere to be found in 2024’s The Crow. In the comics, Funboy, Tin-Tin, and Tom-Tom are featured as prominent members of the gang. Funboy is T-Bird’s right-hand man and the one who is in a relationship with Sherri’s mother, while Tin-Tin and Tom-Tom are low-level gang members. Tin-Tin is the first one to die after Eric becomes The Crow and begins seeking vengeance.
Tom-Tom was not included in the 1994 movie, as he was replaced by a new character named Shank
The Crow 2024’s new origin story for Eric and Shelly made it difficult to include T-Bird’s gang members, at least as characters that were even remotely close to the comics. Instead, the movie essentially replaces these characters with members of Roeg’s team, like Marian (Laura Bern). These are the characters who are henchmen working for the main villain and the ones responsible for killing Eric and Shelly originally. So while Funboy, Tin-Tin, and Tom-Tom are not physically in the 2024 movie, new characters fill similar shoes.
6 Officer Albrecht
From The Comics & 1994 Movie
The character of Officer Albrecht is also missing from The Crow 2024. He was featured in the original comics as a local cop who meets Eric and works with him. The 1994 movie cast Ernie Hudson to play Albrecht, and he received a significant role in the story as a result. The police officer covers Eric and Shelly’s murder case, going as far as risking his job security to help Eric once he is resurrected. Albrecht also has a close relationship with Sherri, as the two bond over hot dogs and knowing that Eric is The Crow.
There is no role for Albrecht in The Crow 2024. There is a detective character in the movie who is tasked with investigating Eric and Shelly’s deaths, but he works for Roeg and is corrupt. It would appear that this new character was utilized instead of risking controversy by making Albrecht a villain this time around.
5 The Skull Cowboy
He Was Cut From The 1994 Movie
The Crow 2024 does not include the comic character known as The Skull Cowboy. In the comics, The Skull Cowboy is a spirit that helps guide The Crow, keeping him focused on the mission at hand. Audiences did not get to see the character in the original 1994 movie either. However, The Skull Cowboy was deleted from The Crow, as he was originally meant to play a pivotal role in the third act. Changes to the movie made after Brandon Lee’s passing partially attributed to the character’s scenes being cut.
Similarly to other entries, The Skull Cowboy is left out of The Crow 2024 in favor of a different character occupying a similar role. Kronos essentially plays the same role as The Skull Cowboy, as he’s used to explain Bill Skarsgård’s The Crow powers and the rules of this world. It’s unclear why the film did not just use spirit from the comics, although the cost of doing a skull-faced character could be one reason.
4 Joshua Zane
Another Crow In The Comics
Since The Crow 2024 is another movie following Eric Draven, other versions of The Crow, like Joshua Zane, are also not included. Joshua Zane is a Native American from the Crow Nation who became the supernatural being in The Crow: Dead Time. The three-issue miniseries follows Joshua as he is resurrected 100 years after he, his wife, and his child were murdered by Confederate soldiers. His mission is to kill those responsible for their murders, who have since been reincarnated as a biker gang. Including him in the movie would’ve crowded Eric’s story.
3 Iris Shaw
The First Female Crow In The Comics
The Crow 2024 also does not include Iris Shaw, who was the first female Crow in the comics. She was featured in the three-issue miniseries The Crow: Flesh and Blood. The comic follows her time as The Crow after she and her unborn baby were killed by terrorists. Interestingly, Iris Shaw does not have the full scope of The Crow’s healing powers for an unspecified reason. She has never been featured in a live-action adaptation of the comics.
Bobbie Phillips’ Hannah Foster from the TV show The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was the first female version of The Crow to appear on screen.
2 Michael Korby
Another Crow In The Comics
Michael Korby is another version of The Crow from the comics, and he is also not featured in the 2024 movie. Korby is from the three-issue miniseries The Crow: Wild Justice, which follows his time as The Crow after he and his wife died. He is a slightly different version of the supernatural being thanks to the connection he has to Gorgon. His tattoos from the gods allow him to regenerate as long as the Gorgon blood is still running through his body. There was no room for him to appear in the 2024 reimagining.
1 Jamie Osterberg
A Modern Crow In The Comics
A more modern version of The Crow is also missing from The Crow 2024 with Jamie Osterberg. His story unfolds over the five-issue miniseries from 2013 known as The Crow: Death and Rebirth. The story takes place in Japan as Jamie is resurrected to free the souls of his friends and fiancée. Notably, Jamie Osterberg’s version of The Crow possesses a powerful sword. Since Jamie’s story as The Crow is very disconnected from Eric’s, it makes sense that he would be among the missing characters in The Crow.