A new movie version of the indie comic THE CROW has been in the works for a few years now, with people like Stephen Norrington (BLADE) once attached to direct, Nick Cave (THE PROPOSITION) taking a shot at the script, and even Mark Wahlberg rumored to wear the leather and white makeup as vengeful revenant Eric Draven.
Now the reboot is (appropriately) starting again from scratch, with director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo now bringing the rocker back from the grave to get payback for his slain gal. Fresnadillo is probably best known for directing the sequel 28 WEEKS LATER, and almost directing the adaptation of the videogame BIOSHOCK.
THE CROW update comes from Relativity and producer Edward R. Pressman, and officially “will be a reboot of the iconic cult character Eric Draven, who’s resurrected as The Crow to avenge his wife’s murder so he can reunite with her in the hereafter, as first envisioned by graphic novelist James O’Barr.”
Pressman says, “The original Crow was groundbreaking cinema; its gothic visual and musical ideas influenced a generation and cinema itself. With Juan Carlos, we have every confidence that his new Crow will have a similar impact on the contemporary audience.“
While director Alex Proyas’ 1994 movie starring the late Brandon Lee will likely be the definitive version for most of us, the Crow has also previously been revived (as different characters) in other comics miniseries, an anthology book, three movie sequels and a syndicated TV series that starred Mark Dacascos as Draven. There was also an aborted futuristic feature from Rob Zombie.