When it comes to the continuation of an already beloved franchise, there has often been hesitation among fans. As the original movie is what sparked people’s passion for a universe, and many don’t like to see that story altered or in a different light. In 2024, many franchise continuations have been released, but in just the last few weeks, franchises with a deeper-rooted fandom have released new movies to engage a new generation. Both the “Alien” and “The Crow” franchises had an immense amount of popularity in the height of their original movies, but have resurfaced to continue their stories. 

The “Alien” franchise has created a cult following since the release of their first movie in 1979 starring Sigourney Weaver, who led the franchise for three subsequent movies. As most franchises do, they continued on with other movies to expand the fan’s knowledge of the universe and introduced new creatures but now they’ve decided to go back to basics. “Alien: Romulus” is the franchise’s new addition that takes place after the first movie. It follows a group of runaway teens who escape their mining colony in hopes for a better life, but instead are faced with the gruesome task of survival. The movie portrayed a parrelled homage to the original, while staying true to a completely new storyline and character complexity. Overall, the movie gained a lot of popularity and praise both from alien fans and horror fans in general. 

 If you’re asking local movie enthusiast Keiko,  who declined to share her last name, she would rave about the movie’s human connection’s just as much as its gory displays. 

“You already know the egg implant explodes, but it’s the story and characters that make it interesting,”  Keiko said. 

Even though the movie is still playing in theaters it has already reached the milestone of being the second highest grossing alien movie in the franchise, and has grossed well over two times its budget. 

With praise from all generations it’s obvious that this movie was a success for the franchise, but what about a franchise with a little more controversy surrounding its new release. “The Crow” (2024) is one of these movies that entered the franchise with an already vengeful and debatable fandom. The franchise itself is a comic series that was popularized with the release of “The Crow” (1994) and due to the tragic nature of the films filming also became a sort of memorial. 

Brandon Lee plays the main character, Eric Draven, and due to a firearm malfunction with props he passed away on set. Following the movie’s release the fandom only grew as the gothic nature of the film and dedication of the actor himself created a loyal fanbase. Three more Crow movies were made afterwards but continue to go unrecognized by the fandom. Since then no one has dared to touch the story of Eric Draven, until now. 

Actor Bill Skarsquard now takes on the role in this new reimagining as it follows Draven’s survival of a gruesome incident and his resurrection for his path of revenge. However the movie will follow different plot points and aesthetics from the first, in hopes of enticing a new generation.

While the original movie followed a more theatrical and gothic style in both scenery and character design, the new movie provides a modern look. With a modern punk style, this version of the character not only looks different but is given a less theatrical and more realistic approach to his story. Since both of these movies are just different iterations of the comic stories, whose to say which Crow is truly more accurate. Regardless, it is this new generation style that causes debate between both old and new fans. 

Jami Day, a longtime fan of the franchise, has hope for the effects of this new style bringing in a fresh audience. 

“I feel that they were attempting to draw in a new gen, and they did it well,” Day said. “The old school audience will miss out since they can’t get over the fact of a new remake.”

This movie can still be caught for late night showings in theaters, but has only grossed less than half its budget so far. Whether this remake is positively received, it remains as an introduction of The Crow’s story to an entire new generation. 

Regardless of how much each movie grossed and how people felt about the new additions, the franchises still fought to prove something. As they take a step forward in the franchise by channeling aspects of the originals, they can spark a whole new generation of fans.