The 2024 “Crow” remake is actually the fifth film to be based on O’Barr’s comic. It comes after “The Crow: City of Angels” (1996), which was a direct sequel to the first, and the soft reboots “The Crow: Salvation” (2000), and “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005). There was also a one-season TV series called “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven” which ran from 1998 to 1999, as well as eight “Crow” novels and a pile of comic books that came out from 1996 to 1999.
Throughout the glut of “Crow” media, additional remakes and sequels have also been floated, only to fall apart. After “City of Angels” was released, Rob Zombie was approached about making a follow-up (he performed a cover of “I’m Your Boogieman” for the “City of Angels” soundtrack). Zombie’s version was to be called “The Crow 2037,” and followed a young man who grew up in a dystopian future, unaware that he was resurrected by a Crow when he was a boy. As we know, that version fell through and no actor was cast in the lead role. Also unsuccessful was the proposed 2000 remake called “The Crow: Lazarus” which would have starred rapper DMX as the resurrected.
By 2011, Stephen Norrington’s “Crow” film fell apart, and it began to mutate. In 2011, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (“28 Weeks Later”) was attached as the project’s new director, and he reportedly was talking to Bradley Cooper as a potential lead actor. There were some legal issues over the film rights to “The Crow,” and Cooper had to step away to work on other projects. Director F. Javier Gutiérrez stepped in, and casting rumors began in earnest. At the time, James McAvoy was said to have signed on, while Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum were allegedly approached.
