Today Alex Proyas' 1994 adaption of The Crow comic starring Brandon Lee; the late son of Bruce Lee, is considered a cult classic to both horror and comic book fans. But now, as has been happening with many of these classic favorites, The Crow is indeed getting a reboot from Spanish director F. Javier Gutiérrez (Before The Fall). While many names have come up as to who would replace Lee including Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), James McAvoy (Trance), Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood), and most recently Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers). Now news has hit that Immortal's and Fast and the Furious 6 star Luke Evans has now signed to headline the reboot.
After weeks of rumored names being up for the gig, Deadline has now confirmed that Luke Evans, who has starred in such roles as Zeus in Tarsem Singh's Immortals and as the villain in the upcoming Fast and the Furious 6, is officially our all new Eric Draven aka The Crow. Evans comes as the more surprising choice out of the other names brought up for the role, and his schedule isn't exactly empty as he's just signed on for to play the lead in a new Dracula origin film and is set to begins filming some time this year.
While numerous people have been linked to the part including most notably Bradley Cooper; who's likeness was even used in concept art for the film, reportedly Evans had always been the first choice for the job. Apparently he wasn't able to sign on due to scheduling conflicts, presumably with Dracula, but now it seems The Crow reboot will be delayed to give Evans the time he needs. Evans resumé may not be as impressive as that of other people brought up for the role such as Hiddleston or McAvoy, but it seems that director F. Javier Gutiérrez really had his sights set on Evans if he's willing to adjust things and delay the film.
The original Alex Proyas 1994 Crow film followed the story of guitarist Eric Draven who (Along with his girlfriend Shelly) is murdered the night before his wedding on Halloween. But a year later is brought back from the dead as The Crow to seek vengeance on the people responsible for the deaths of both him and Shelly. The film's now considered a cult classic, but is probably best known for the tragic death of it's main star Brandon Lee due to an on set accident. While many fans aren't exactly thrilled with the idea of replacing Lee as Eric and completely remaking the film, fans can at least be assured that the film will be close in plot to the original. According to Luke Evans:
"I'm Eric Draven. I'm the same character. Obviously, he's been refreshed and brought up to date. We're reimagining it to a certain extent, but the story and the plot is mostly the same"
Evans casting along with the other actors considered seems to hint at some modifications to the original character, and maybe even his trademark make-up as seen in the concept art. Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight has constantly been compared to Brandon Lee's Crow, so many fans would agree that he would've been the best fit to replace Lee. But sadly and coincidentally Ledger too died before the release of his blockbuster film like Lee. I personally have always seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a pretty great fit for a more Brandon Lee-esque version of The Crow, but I guess any chances of seeing that are nonexistent.
So what do you think of Luke Evans playing The Crow? Would you have preferred someone else?
