Should there be a remake of Alex Proyas’ The Crow? Does anyone even want one? The film’s been in the works for years now, so we’ve been mulling over those question for quite some time, but now the man who created it all, James O’Barr, the artist behind the comic, is assuring fans this new version will do the source material justice and respect the legacy of Brandon Lee and the 1994 film as well.
In fact, the rendition starring Luke Evans isn’t even a remake of Proyas’ movie; it’s a new adaptation of the comic book. And Evans won’t be playing Eric Draven in the new film either, but rather, Eric, just like in O’Barr’s original work. Hit the jump for more on the new The Crow.
It’s still unconfirmed whether or not F. Javier Gutierrez is still on board to direct, but based on what O’Barr told Korsgaard’s Commentary (via ComingSoon), it does seem like he’s in. Even though O’Barr was once convinced no one could top Proyas’ film, he recalled something Gutierrez told him that was a total game changer:
“I don’t want to remake that film, that film is perfect as it is. I want to do your book, literally page-for-page adaptation.”
O’Barr further explained:
“We’re not remaking the movie, we’re readapting the book. My metaphor is that there is a Bela Lugosi Dracula and there’s a Francis Ford Coppola Dracula, they use the same material, but you still got two entirely different films. This one’s going to be closer to Taxi Driver or a John Woo film, and I think there’s room for both of them – part of the appeal of the Crow comics after all is that they can tell very different stories after all.”
I’ve never read the comics, so can’t speak to that last point, but the fact that this rendition won’t be a copy/paste of the first film is reassuring. Trying to turn the original into something that will appeal to a new generation of fans or aiming to replicate Lee’s work are lose-lose situations. Fortunately, that’s not what’s happening. O’Barr further explained:
“Brandon Lee was a friend, and I’d never do anything to hurt his legacy. Eric Draven was a creation of the movie – if you read the comic, Eric and Shelley never have their last names revealed. Hopefully, this is one area the new movie being more faithful to the comic will come into play, and Eric won’t be going by Eric Draven in the new film. Luke Evans may play Eric, but Brandon Lee will forever be Eric Draven.”
Amen to that. But O’Barr does have high hopes for Evans as Eric:
“I’ve seen him in the make-up too, and he looks great.”
Once O’Barr found worthy partners in both Gutierrez and Evans, he knew they had to make this movie together:
“Javier, Luke and I went to the studio and said we won’t do this unless all three of us do it together. I said if you want me involved, this is what I need, I want control of the soundtrack, like with the first one, I want a voice on all the casting, and I want to be able to give my two cents on the script and the characters, and they agreed to everything. I think the studio understands that if they want a Crow ‘franchise’, they have to get it right. We’re hoping to begin production later this month, and start shooting in the spring.”
O’Barr also added this regarding plans for the film’s soundtrack:
“We’re including some music I’d wanted to originally, but just couldn’t get the rights to, some actual Joy Division songs, some vintage Cure songs – I’m still pretty active in the music industry, and there is a lot of neo-goth bands out there, that have that same sound, and I’ve talked to some of them about contributing, and they’re very excited about it.”
O’Barr seems to be well aware of the main concerns fans have regarding this new The Crow movie and if he’s this deeply involved, especially in a creative capacity, perhaps the trio does actually have a chance at bringing back the beloved property while still making the material accessible to newcomers.
