Things have been quite rough for Relativity Media's The Crow reboot. First, onetime helmer Stephen Norrington abandoned the project - followed by prospective star Mark Wahlberg's confirmation that he would not portray the new incarnation of (formerly deceased) rock musician, Eric Draven.

Fellow prospective leading man Bradley Cooper dropped the Crow reboot a few months back, reportedly due to a scheduling conflict with the Paradise Lost adaptation from filmmaker Alex Proyas (helmer of the original 1994 Crow movie, ironically enough) - and it looks like the comic book project is also without a director once more.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo signed on to call the shots on the new Crow flick earlier this year, but Twitch is now reporting that he too has left the project. The filmmaker (who is best known for directing 28 Weeks Later) was officially brought on to helm another reboot of a cult franchise, Highlander, about a month ago. Given that the latter appears to be steadily making its way along the production pipeline, it's possible that Fresnadillo decided to focus solely on that flick and abandon his plans of also tackling The Crow.

Screenwriter Alex Tse is seemingly the only creative talent still currently attached to the Crow reboot - a project that studio heads have (in now customary fashion) been talking up as being a darker and grittier take on Draven's beyond-the-grave quest for vengeance than Proyas' original cult classic, any of its largely-despised feature-length spinoffs (City of Angels, Salvation, and Wicked Prayer), or even the 1998 TV series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.

Proyas' original Crow film adaptation remains generally loved (or, at the least, admired) for its unique mix of grungy Gothic visuals with supernatural fantasy elements, an engaging Noir-style storyline, Brandon Lee's ominous lead performance, and a rockin' soundtrack that included contributions by groups like Violent Femmes or Nine Inch Nails, among others.

That's all to say: many Crow fans - or film buffs who enjoyed Proyas' adaptation - probably aren't too concerned about the reboot ever being able to move past the pre-production stage of development.

Bradley Cooper won't be in The Crow reboot

Nonetheless, the Crow reboot - for better or worse - remains alive, despite having suffered yet another (creative) blow. Former directorial candidate F. Javier Gutiérrez is already said to possibly be back in the running to helm the project, while rumors persist about who might up to headline the film - with candidates ranging from Ryan Gosling (Drive) to Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra). So stay tuned for more...

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We will continue to keep you posted on the status of The Crow as more information is released.

Source: Twitch