Bill Skarsgård's New Action Movie Is An Encouraging Sign For His The Crow Remake

Summary Bill Skarsgård excelled in Boy Kills World's action scenes, showcasing his versatility as an action star.

His dedication to training and unique movement style translated well into the demanding fight choreography.

Skarsgård's upcoming role in The Crow will feature different, darker action sequences, highlighting his adaptability.

Bill Skarsgård's performance in the recently released Boy Kills World proved just how effective the young Swedish actor can be as an action star, and it's an encouraging sign that he can deliver on that front in the upcoming remake of The Crow. Skarsgård stars as the unnamed Boy in the action comedy, and he uses a bevy of weapons along with his fists and feet in the course of his character's pursuit of vengeance. The highly-stylized fight choreography gives Boy Kills World its own unique tone, even if it does share the brutality and bloodiness of predecessors like John Wick, The Beekeeper and even the recent Monkey Man.

While the movie is classified as a comedy thanks largely to the use of H. Jon Benjamin (Bob's Burgers) as the internal voice for Skarsgård's character, Boy Kills World still includes a ton of explosive action and darkness that's common in action thrillers. While Moritz Mohr, the Boy Kills World director, was hesitant to cast Skarsgård not knowing whether he could deliver on the high level of fight choreography required in the movie, the 33-year-old unquestionably proved that he is more than capable. Skarsgård's next role will undoubtedly come under much more scrutiny due to its beloved source material.

Related Boy Kills World Review: Old-School Revenge Thriller Shows Just How Tough Bill Skarsgard Is Skarsgård and Benjamin make for an odd pair that work well together. Mohr's vision is clear and realized, and the resulting work of art is exciting.

Boy Kills World Proves Bill Skarsgård Can Be An Action Lead Ahead Of The Crow

Skarsgård nailed the fight scenes

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One of the defining characteristics of Boy Kills World is the astouding level of fight choreography required of all the actors and actresses involved in the movie. As Boy, Bill Skarsgård spends the entire movie fighting and killing enemies using a variety of strategies and weapons, most notably including his fist pistol that fires bullets with each punch. The sheer diversity of fighting styles shows exactly how much commitment was required from Skarsgård to learn how to execute the choreography, especially given how limited his experience in action was coming into the movie.

During his two-month martial arts training, Skarsgård and action coordinator Dawe Szatarski developed a unique movement style for Skarsgård which was possible due to his 6'4" frame.

Skarsgård also committed to transforming his body for the role, as his character is marked by a lithe, shredded physique that allows him to execute some of the more difficult, over-the-top fighting maneuvers. While the box office return for Boy Kills World has been thoroughly uninspiring, it seemingly had nothing to do with Skarsgård's performance, as he clearly had fun with the role in addition to committing himself fully. Skarsgård wasn't asked to do much from a comedy perspective, although that won't have any bearing on whether he can deliver as Eric Draven in The Crow, which borders on horror.

The Crow's Action Sequences Will Be Very Different From Boy Kills World

The upcoming remake will be much darker

image via Lionsgate

Skarsgård's experience in Boy Kills World will directly translate to his role as Eric Draven (originally played by the late Brandon Lee) given the supernatural action that permeates the story chronicled in The Crow. The 2024 remake will certainly have a few notable style and story differences from the 1994 original, but the general concept of a murdered young man returning from the grave to avenge the murder of his fiancée will carry over. What makes Skarsgård's character Eric Draven dangerous is the fact that he seemingly can't be killed, and can recover from any injury in seconds.

That means that the action required of Skarsgård in The Crow will be very different from what was asked of him in Boy Kills World. As opposed to the chaotic, frenetically-paced martial arts punches and kicks of Boy Kills World, the trailer for The Crow indicates that the action will be much more sudden, and largely weapons-based. Skarsgård certainly proved he can handle knives and gunfire in Boy Kills World, and if that movie's action is any indication, the Swedish actor should deliver a rousing action performance as Eric Draven in The Crow.