I feel like ever since THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER came out 10 years ago, there’s been a nonstop revolving door of potential successors to Brandon Lee and Mark Dacascos for the role of Eric Draven. We’ve heard names like Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg potentially circling the part, while guys like Tom Hiddleston and Luke Evans came closer to actually landing the gig. Jack Huston was the latest name, replacing Evans, but after only a few months after signing on, he’s had to bail due to scheduling difficulties.
Huston’s got PRIDE AND PREJUIDICE AND ZOMBIES and BEN-HUR coming out, and he probably had to pick between leading up both movies or giving up one just to wait in the wings for this project, which already has a tumultuous history of starts and stops.
Allegedly, Relativity and director Corin Hardy are unphased, and area already looking at Nicholas Hoult (who we now know looks good in facepaint) or Jack O’Connell (UNBROKEN) to replace Huston. They also just landed Forest Whitaker for the Sgt. Albrecht role originally played by Ernie Hudson. But they gotta start from scratch with whatever lead actor they get, at least in terms of the look and the approach to this portrayal of the character.
I think Huston was a great pick for the role, but it can’t be fun being locked into a project that has been in development for forever and has already acquired and lost a handful of male leads, especially if you’re an up-and-comer with concrete gigs on the slate. This is one of those projects that seems doomed for development hell (do modern audiences really want this grunge-era film dusted off for 2015?), but we’ll see if it gains that crucial jolt of traction when they get the next guy lined up for the title role.
You guys excited for the prospect of Hoult or O’Connell, or will you lament the Cooper, Evans, or Huston-led CROW remakes that will never be?
