The much-derailed reboot of The Crow appears to be back on track. The film, set in development by Sony, is being retooled & is now back in active development at the studio.
Samuel Hadida’s Davis Films, Highland Film Group, and Electric Shadow previously acquired the rights to finance, produce and distribute the film, and are allegedly all still involved in bringing the character back to the big screen. Reports say the studio is now looking for a new writer and director.
To say The Crow franchise is cursed would be an understatement. The first film is a cult classic & highly regarded but its star, Brandon Lee, was tragically killed during an on-set accident while filming the film. The movie was finished with the use of stand-ins & CGI & was ultimately released to solid box office & great fan support before going on to be a true cult classic after its theatrical run. Dimension Films released a sequel, The Crow: City of Angels, back in 1996 but the studio butchered the film to death & it was met with poor box office & vicious critical reaction. Two direct to video sequels were also released, beginning with The Crow: Salvation and followed by The Crow: Wicked Prayer, which was released 15 years ago. Both were met with a collective shrug. You’d be forgiven if you also forgot The Crow: Stairway to Heaven TV series that ran for one season in 1998.
After a long period of gestation and behind the scenes issues, Sony Pictures had dated their long-delayed The Crow reboot for October 11, 2019. The Nun‘s Corin Hardy had been attached to direct, with Jason Momoa playing the iconic role of the vengeful Eric Draven. Pre-production was officially underway when all of a sudden it was announced that both Hardy and Momoa had exited the project. While it was pretty clear then that The Crow wouldn’t be resurrected, Sony officially pulled the film off their release slate back in July of 2018.
Sony must believe in the brand because they aren’t letting this one go & putting it back in active development means they believe they can make it work. They must be encouraged by the successful IP revival of the Bad Boys franchise & their success with Jumanji (I guess they’re forgetting they also released Charlie’s Angels & MIB: International to dreadful results).
Although The Crow is still in active development, there is no new release date set as of yet.
