Director Alex Proyas's 1994 film THE CROW (BUY IT HERE) is one of my favorite movies, and it's the performance Brandon Lee gives as lead character Eric Draven that makes it so powerful and emotionally involving. As everyone knows, Lee was killed during the production, the victim of a tragic accident. Filming was completed after his death, and the movie was a financial and critical success… Which means that sequels followed. For the last several years, a remake has been in and out of development. Stephen Norrington, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Francisco Javier Gutiérrez, and Corin Hardy were all attached to direct it at different points, and actors up for the lead role – which would be Eric Draven again – have included Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Jack Huston, and Jason Momoa.
There's no sign that the remake of THE CROW is going to happen any time soon, and Lee's THE CROW '94 co-star Ernie Hudson feels that it would be better if the franchise was just left alone.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Hudson said,
Well, James O'Barr is a friend and he created this thing as his graphic novel. And Brandon taking it on, I knew Brandon before we did the movie. We had some problems sort of pulling it together, but when Brandon died, it's even hard to verbalize. I've done action movies, but nobody gets hurt. I mean, it's close to impossible, at least in my mind that that could happen, but it did happen. And so, I love being a part of that movie and Alex Proyas, who directed it, he was a wonderful director, he really took special care to make sure the movie was what it is. But, in my mind, it was kind of done. Maybe there could be other Crows or whatever, but, it's not like Ghostbusters, which I thought, 'Oh yeah, you can have a lot of them.' I just thought Brandon was The Crow and, as far as I was concerned, once he died and we went back to finish it, it was done in my mind. I know they've made others, but I've never seen them. Brandon was The Crow, and that's how I feel. Now, fans feel otherwise. Obviously, the studio feels otherwise, because it could be a great franchise, but sometimes I think it's very specific. … The Crow is an amazing movie for a lot of reasons, but Brandon was the heart of it and I just I can't imagine [another]. But, like I said, people will try and maybe sometime, somebody will find their own thing, but what that is and was, I don't think you can do that again."
He went on to say that if a remake does move forward, the filmmakers should
not try to recreate that. Do something totally different. Just do a whole other kind of character. Just do something different."
I agree with Hudson that if any more CROW movies are made, the lead character should not be Eric Draven. His story doesn't need to be told again. They should follow the example of the sequels and focus on different characters in different situations. Of course, someone other than Brandon Lee has already played Eric Draven. The television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, which ran for one season back in 1998 – '99, starred Mark Dacascos as the character.
Written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, the 1994 film had the following synopsis:
The night before his wedding, musician Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and his fiancée are brutally murdered by members of a violent inner-city gang. On the anniversary of their death, Eric rises from the grave and assumes the gothic mantle of the Crow, a supernatural avenger. Tracking down the thugs responsible for the crimes and mercilessly murdering them, Eric eventually confronts head gangster Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) to complete his macabre mission.
We heard earlier this year that Samuel Hadida's Davis Films, Highland Film Group, and Electric Shadow do have a remake in active development, so we'll keep you updated on that if they have any luck with it.