There are some things you just have to accept you'll probably never see in your lifetime: world peace, light speed, and a reboot of The Crow. A remake of the 1994 film from director Alex Proyas, based on the comic book series by James O'Barr, has been in development hell so long it basically owns the joint. The latest iteration of The Crow was all set to start shooting soon for an October 2019 release date when, a few days ago, star Jason Momoa and director Corin Hardy left the project. The director has now opened up about his love for the property and the difficult decision to leave the film saying:
I knew from the off, that the idea of making a new version of The Crow was never going to be for everyone, because it is a beloved film. And I say that as someone in love with it myself. But I poured everything I had into the last 3.5 years of work, to try & create something which honoured what the Crow stood for; from James O'Barr's affecting graphic novel, to Alex Proyas's original movie, with great respect to Brandon Lee and with the desire to make something bold and new, that myself, as an obsessive fan, could be proud of. And with @prideofgypsies Jason Momoa, and my amazing team of artists & film-makers, we came SO close. But sometimes, when you love something so much, you have to make hard decisions. And yesterday, deciding it was time to let go of this dark & emotional dream project, was the hardest decision of all. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.
As sad as it is for fans of The Crow that this franchise's resurrection will once again be postponed, it is made even sadder reading Corin Hardy's words. While remakes are always a tricky proposition and not all fans are interested in a remake of The Crow, you can see that Corin Hardy was coming at this from the right place, wanting to do justice to the beloved iterations of the character that have come before, while also delivering something new. As he notes in his Instagram post, this movie was so close to happening, with shooting set to begin in just five weeks and a big name actor attached to star as Eric Draven. If ever it was going to happen this seemed like the time, so to have it fall apart at the last minute after putting in years of work must be truly devastating.
Corin Hardy doesn't go into it but it seems that Davis Films, that owns the rights and was financing The Crow, could not come to terms with Sony Pictures for distribution and that writing on the wall seems to be what lead to the exits of Jason Momoa and Corin Hardy. Hardy's earnest words about what he wanted to do with The Crow and the concept art Jason Momoa shared certainly makes the sting of this abrupt collapse all the worse as we now have some idea of the exciting vision they had for this movie.
Making the decision to leave a dream project is quite sad,and it makes you wonder if this didn't get done this time, will it ever? While I think a lot of people are curious and would like to see a new take on The Crow, perhaps it is best to let it go. For now, it seems we will have to wait and see if this is salvaged in some way. If not, we can look forward to the next rumblings of a remake followed by a succession of directors and actors only for it all to amount to nothing. Then again, if Terry Gilliam can finally get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote made, there is always hope and you can never say never.
For all the latest on losing battles and lost causes, stay tuned to CinemaBlend. And to see movies that actually are happening and coming to theaters this year (fingers crossed), check out our 2018 release schedule.
