There are few current movie projects that have served a more troubled term in development hell than Relativity Media's planned reboot of The Crow. James O'Barr, the creator of the comic book upon which the 1994 original was based, has said that approximately $20 million has already been spent trying to get the new adaptation off the ground, but despite plans to begin filming this fall The Crow still doesn't have a lead actor attached.

Relativity has bigger problems right now, however. The company is currently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to owing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, and this week confirmed that 75 people - a fifth of Relativity's total staff - have been laid off. The studio's financial woes have obviously had an impact on its current projects, and the latest reports indicate that The Crow has been hit hard.

According to THR, inside sources are claiming that pre-production on The Crow in the UK has stalled and an entire production team has left the project, along with several department heads. Sources also said that Relativity is currently preparing an official statement on the status of The Crow, though one insider said that Relativity "continue[s] to be excited" by the property.

Director Corin Hardy (The Hallow) is currently attached to The Crow, which was supposed to begin filming at Pinewood Studios' new site in Cardiff this year. Actors who have been sought or attached to play the lead role include Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Tom Hiddleston, Alexander Skarsgård, Luke Evans and Jack Huston. Huston dropped out of the project in mid-June, at which point Hardy said, "We look forward to unveiling our new lead and starting to film over the next several weeks."

Oona Chaplin and Jack Huston in The Longest Ride
Jack Huston (The Longest Ride) dropped out of 'The Crow' earlier this summer.

Huston has since said that a scheduling conflict was the reason behind his decision to drop out of The Crow, but the scheduling conflict likely came into play due to the film's seemingly endless production delays. If The Crow had begun filming this spring, as was planned, then the scheduling clash might have been avoided. Evans, who officially exited The Crow at the start of 2015, explicitly said that he just couldn't keep waiting around for Relativity to get the cameras rolling.

The Crow's production delays make more sense in light of Relativity's current financial troubles, which probably aren't going to make it any easier to attract cast and production team members. In theory The Crow is still set to start filming this fall, but don't be surprised if the new year rolls around and Relativity still hasn't nothing to show for it.

We'll keep you updated on The Crow as development continues.

Source: THR