For a while now, one of the potential movies that Bradley Cooper has been juggling is a remake of The Crow, which Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) is planning to direct. However THR reports that the actor has now bailed on the movie, due to his very busy schedule. A replacement is already being sought, with Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg said to be circling the movie.
Slightly ironically, one of Cooper’s commitments is to Alex Proyas’ adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and of course Proyas was the man who directed the original Crow movie in 1994. Indeed this remake does seem to be a bit addicted to filmic musical chairs, as Wahlberg was attached to star in the movie around a year ago, and it appeared at the time his involvement and requested changes to the script causes director Stephen Norrington to leave the project. Wahlberg bailed as well shortly afterwards, at which time the whole thing was rebooted with Fresnadillo and Cooper coming on-board.
Recently Bradley Cooper replaced Wahlberg in The Silver Linings Playbook, and now it looks like with The Hangover star leaving The Crow, Wahlberg’s looking to come back onboard The Crow to replace Cooper.
Tatum meanwhile is about to start shooting GI Joe 2, but that should be complete in plenty of time for him to take part in The Crow, which Fresnadillo wants to start shooting early next year. We’ll have to wait and see whether either of these sign on, or if other actors join the fray.