In Hollywood, nothing is sacred—not even The Crow. While Alex Proyas’s 1994 film received cult status for both Brandon Lee’s outstanding performance and his tragic accident on set, studios have long tried to figure out a way to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle effect again. At one point, there was even a plan for The Crow reboot starring Jason Momoa as Eric Draven.
Here’s the rest of the footage. There’s always been some confusion around if it’s from before he was cast or not. I’ve personally never been able to confirm but perhaps @corinhardy can?! #TheCrow #JasonMomoa https://t.co/3QOXCRZnaU pic.twitter.com/saY1WXaf4U
— Ryan (@itsRyanUnicomb) November 26, 2021
What is the story here?
After none of The Crow‘s sequels managed to captivate the audience in the same way as the original had, a decision was made to reboot the franchise entirely. The project pinged from director to director, and even actors. Bradley Cooper’s name did the rounds, then Luke Evans was cast, but he made way for Jack Huston. Eventually, Jason Momoa was selected in the lead role, with The Nun‘s Corbin Hardy directing.
Why Jason Momoa’s The Crow reboot didn’t happen
Unfortunately, due to “creative and financial differences” as reported by Deadline, both Hardy and Momoa departed The Crow reboot in 2018, leaving the franchise’s future up in the air. Since then, however, test footage of Momoa in character has leaked online, with many fans commenting on how perfect he looks as Draven and what a missed opportunity it was.
In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, though, Hardy refused to throw in the towel. “It’s a story that I’m just in love with and wedded towards and I put three and a half, four years of life into and love and blood and sweat and tears,” he said, “and I have a ton of materials, so I don’t know whether one day … I suppose I’m not really wanting to show them because I still believe there will be a Crow sometime, but we’ll see.”
Why it should still happen
Hardy’s passion for the project is clear, as is Momoa’s. They both invested a lot of time and effort into it, believing they could do something unique and pay tribute to both James O’Barr’s seminal graphic novel and the iconic 1994 film.
Considering Jason Momoa‘s incredible star power now, reviving The Crow reboot is simply a no-brainer. The film will instantly receive more eyes on it than ever before, as everyone will be curious to see if the Aquaman actor can do the legendary role justice.
The truth is, Momoa is more than qualified for the part. If you think back to the original film, Draven was a rock star who lost the love of his life. Whether it’s on screen or in real life, Momoa is a rock star who wears his heart on his sleeve. There’s so much passion in everything he does that you can’t help but root for him to succeed. Plus, teaming him up with Hardy’s horror sensibilities would’ve given us one of the darkest iterations of The Crow yet, making it more in line with the source material.
So, is it possible that Jason Momoa’s The Crow reboot could still find its wings and fly again? Never say never in Hollywood, but any studio would be silly to turn down a potential hit like this.
