Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) has dropped out of “The Crow” reboot. According to a recent report by Twitch, it is speculated that Fresnadillo has walked from the project to possibly persue directorial duties for Summit’s “Highlander” reboot. F Javier Gutierrez (The Falls) is rumored to be a possible replacement to bring James O’Barr’s graphic novel back to the big screen.
At this point the film seems to be in a temporary development hell. If this recent setback isn’t an omen foreshadowing that this reboot should not happen, then I don’t know what is. Take a look at this revolving door of productive:
Alex Proyas’ initial 1994 film adaptation of the character proved enough of a cult hit to spawn two vastly inferior sequels – 1996’s The Crow: City Of Angels and 2000’s The Crow: Salvation – along with a 1998 television series with Mark Dacascos filling the role. The title has been dormant for some time now but execs have been looking for a way to bring it back.
Director Stephen Norrington was initially slated to direct the reboot from a script by Nick Cave. Then an actor – who has never been named – expressed an interest in the part and a dislike for Cave’s script which led to Cave being bounced. And Norrington followed. The Norrington / Cave combination was eventually replaced by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Alex Tse as the director and writer, respectively, with Bradley Cooper eventually signing on to play Eric Draven. But then Cooper left, too, apparently due to scheduling conflicts, conflicts ironically enough due to his role in Alex Proyas’ Paradise Lost.
Please Hollywood studio, just let this franchise die… Yes, I know it’d go against everything “The Crow” represents, but for the love of Jebus… just let it die.