There have been talks for a reboot of The Crow for many years now. And, over those many years, a variety of actors have been attached to the titular role. Some of those actors attached to the reboot of The Crow included both Tom Hiddleston and Luke Evans at different points. Either actor would have played Eric Draven, a rock musician that is murdered along with his lover. In an interesting twist, Eric Draven is brought back from the dead, and seeks vengeance on those who killed him. It’s a popular character that was first played by Brandon Lee, who unfortunately died in an accident while on the set of the original film. The character also first appeared in a comic book which was the inspiration for the original movie. As a result, there’s a lot to live up to when it comes to the possibility of a Crow reboot – but both Tom Hiddleston and Luke Evans made very interesting choices.
As you can see below, the concept art from makeup artist Bill Corso, via Bloody-Disgusting, had some very interesting looks for the two actors. They both retain the familiar and iconic makeup design from the original film, but with additional scars that are more in line with the comic book. F. Javier Gutierrez, who would have directed the film, had this to say about the concept art:
“We tried to make it as faithful to the graphic novel as possible. Grounded, and with attention to detail (I wanted to show the scar). Bill is brilliant, and did an amazing job.”
As such, it looks like the reboot would have attempted to be faithful to both the comic book and the original Brandon Lee film. Tom Hiddleston was the first attached, and eventually left the project. Luke Evans joined next and eventually the project itself seemed to dissipate. At another point Aquaman actor Jason Momoa was going to play in a reboot of The Crow, but that version also stalled.
Perhaps it’s for the best, as some fans have been increasingly disappointed with past sequels to the original Brandon Lee film. And to outright remake it seems like too much for some fans. Of course, only time will tell what path the project could take next – so let’s hope whatever happens is for the best.