‘The Crow’: Is The Cinematic Reboot Finally Taking Flight?

Fans of J. O’Barr’s original comic The Crow, and fans of the ill-fated film with Brandon Lee and its sequels, have been foaming at the mouth for almost two decades in hopes that the character would be brought back to the big screen.

Now, the producer behind the reboot of The Crow claims that that wait is almost over.

Producer Ed Pressman, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter from the International Showbiz Expo in Abu Dhabi, described The Crow as the “anti Spider-man.”

“It still has a big fan base even though it was so long ago. But the generation today doesn’t even know ‘The Crow.'”

To date, there have been almost as many actors linked to play The Crow as there have been to play Marvel’s Doctor Strange, though currently, Dracula Untold’s Luke Evans is the current favorite. Evans added further fuel to the fire earlier this year when he spoke about the film at the BAFTAs, saying that the remake would be “bringing to the screen a lot of parts of the story that were never really told.” That may be a lot of hype to get himself into the role, however, as Pressman stated that nothing regarding casting has been confirmed at this stage.

James O’Barr originally wrote The Crow as a means of dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. The comic was picked up by Caliber Comics in 1989, and became an underground success. To date, The Crow has been translated into over a dozen languages, and sold close to three-quarters of a million copies worldwide.

The film version of The Crow, released in 1994, was surrounded with drama and tragedy from the get-go.

Brandon Lee, the son of iconic and legendary martial arts star Bruce Lee, was cast in the main role of Eric Draven.

The film takes place on the eve of Halloween, when Draven and his fiancé are assaulted by a group of thugs. Draven is killed, but not before he sees his fiancé brutalized and raped. The spirit of the Crow brings Draven back from the dead to exact revenge on those that committed the crime.

During the filming of The Crow, in a scene where Brandon Lee’s character is shot, a dummy round was supposed to be loaded into the stunt weapon. However, either unknowingly or unintentionally, the prop men didn’t have the gun set correctly, and Brandon Lee was shot in the abdomen and mortally wounded.

The film was finished using stunt doubles and digital technology to complete the missing scenes.

According to Aint It Cool News, the reboot of The Crow may finally take flight and start production early next year.

[Image via Total Film]