When The Crow became a hit back in the summer of 1994, it was very bittersweet. The film would have made Brandon Lee a big star if he didn’t meet a tragic end during the shoot.
And while there have been other Crow movies since, but none of them had the same spark as the original.
It was a little over a year ago that we reported that Dimension was trying to resurrect The Crow, and there was already a director and screenwriter in place. Then we didn’t hear anything else until just recently, when the news hit that James McAvoy could be taking over the title role.
McAvoy is from Scotland, and he’s best known for playing the young Professor Xavier in X-Men: First Class. He’s also been in the Idi Amin biopic The Last King of Scotland, and the Angelina Jolie starrer Wanted.
As Cinema Blend tells us, since 2009 there have been several potential Crows and directors that have come and gone. Mark Wahlberg was going to star at one point, then Bradley Cooper, then Channing Tatum. Now according to the site Bloody Disgusting, current word is McAvoy is up for the role, with newcomer F. Javier Gutierrez still on board to direct.
We still don’t know how far along everything is with this remake, whether McAvoy is truly “in talks,” as they say in the biz, or if this is another report that ends up going nowhere. Like the resurrection of any beloved film, The Crow has loyal fans who will be antagonistic towards a reboot unless the new version really delivers. It is indeed remarkable how much love there still is for the original, and there is already a great deal of resistance against a remake. (We even did a story here on the site arguing against trying to resurrect it).
The geeks will always be skeptical, and rightfully so, but there’s always the hope that a new Crow could surprise us and win us over, so long as the remake’s heart is in the right place. If this is nothing more than a cash grab, forget it, it’s over before it started. So if the powers that be behind this are reading this report be forewarned. Do right by the Crow, or you’ll suffer endless wrath from the geeks.
