1994’s The Crow has become much more than a cult hit, and is now a fully fledged classic that will remain forever shrouded in an aura of tragedy; as not only is it a film who’s central character is a tortured soul who comes back from the dead to avenge the brutal murders of him and his fiancee, but it’s a deeply sad picture because of the real-life events that saw its main star (Brandon Lee, Rapid Fire) die during the filming of those infamous murder scenes; but remains such a powerful and engaging story, that it’s now due for a full Hollywood remake.
Since the release of the brilliant, and well-renowned, 1994 feature, three movie sequels have been released (all of which lacked the spirit, style, and substance, of the original), and a Crow TV series (subtitled Stairway to Heaven) was produced (having a fairly favorable run that was better received than the film sequels), revolving around the characters first seen in James O’Barr’s twisted, yet hauntingly resonant, and thoroughly gripping, comic-book series; that has been the subject of an attempted remake for quite sometime.
It was back in July that we reported the script which was handed in by Stephen Norrington (Blade); which was previously described by all who had seen it as being “terrific”; was being given the once over by Nick Cave (The Proposition), and would not only attempt to make the crow (the supernatural bird that brings Eric back from the grave to rightfully avenge his and his fiancee’s deaths) “a character with a “personality” and a much “more active role in the story”, but would contain a some modern-day western elements, and a completely different visual style to the original (as Avatar designer Rob Stromberg has designed a world that’s reportedly unlike anything that has gone before, and remains much closer to James O’Barr’s original comic-book vision).
Also unlike the original, is the current choice for the lead role; as it’s been recently reported that the producers of the film have offered to Mark Wahlberg (Max Payne) the lead role of the haunted hero that was once portrayed, so perfectly, by the tortured son of Bruce Lee; and while there’s no denying that Mark Wahlberg is a skillful actor, he’s far from an obvious choice, and appears much more chiseled and determined than tortured and vengeful; as Eric Draven should be.
So far there’s no new news on a release date for the film, or filming schedule; as both have probably been delayed once again; as filming was reportedly due to begin towards the end of this year, with the plan being to release the movie next year (something that still appears to be roughly penned in, but seems rather unlikely at the minute; especially seen as how Wahlberg hasn’t even officially signed on).
