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James McAvoy To Play The Crow?

Bloody Disgusting has learned from a Hollywood insider – that rare, elusive species – that James McAvoy is the current favorite for the lead role in the remake of supernatural revenge story The Crow. The thirty-three year old Scottish actor has a solid record for comic book adaptations, having previously played milquetoast-turned-assassin Wesley in Timur Bekmambetov‘s 2008 adaptation of Mark Millar‘s/J.G JonesWanted, and, of course, a young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class.

F. Javier Guttierez is Relativity Media’s current choice of director for the project, based on the best-selling comic series by James O’Barr from the late 80s. In Alex Proyas‘ 1994 adaptation, Eric Draven, the series’ protagonist, was played by Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce. The younger Lee was notoriously killed during filming when a blank round discharged a bullet previously lodged in the barrel of the gun – in effect, the gunshot became real. Even more morbidly, this incident occurred during the scene in which Lee‘s character is killed for the first time, along with his girlfriend, for which he seeks bloody reprisal following his mystical resurrection a year later.

The site has previously claimed that Mark Wahlberg was in contention for the role – Bradley Cooper, Ryan Golsing, and Channing Tatum have also appeared in speculation. The film has been in development the past five years in which time it has gone through two previous directors, including the League of Extraordinary Gentleman‘s Steve Norrington. Producer Edward R. Press, who has been with the project since its inception, has said:

The original 1994 Crow film holds a special place in my heart. The current film is a ‘reinvention’ of James O’Barr’s graphic novel for the 21st century. We’re thrilled to have teamed with director Javier Gutiérrez and screenwriter Jesse Wigutow on this story, which remains true to the core of Eric Draven’s plight for revenge. Giving too much away wouldn’t be any fun. ‘Disorder, chaos, anarchy — now that’s fun!’

With all the changes in cast and crew, not to mention the ill-fated provenance of the original film, it remains to be seen whether The Crow will ever get remade, though having a big-name lead attached would obviously be a good start.

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Robert Wallis

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