In 1994, audiences were introduced to a brand new type of anti-hero in the form of The Crow. In the years since, The Crow has become a veritable cult classic. However, the film itself does feel a bit dated, so it's a property that could easily be remade into something more contemporary and badass today.
If the original Crow script were filmed right now, it would require a very talented cast of actors to pull off the dark and gloomy source material. Amid the huge pool of talent in Hollywood are some standout choices that would definitely help make The Crow a solid hit for the modern age.
Tin Tin (Lateef Crowder)
Martial arts expert Lateef Crowder would make for an interesting Tin Tin, the double blade-wielding villain who takes on Eric Draven and manages to hold his own in the process. The role would require someone who knows how to fight, rather than just a common thug with dirty methods.
Crowder has starred in action films like Double Tap and The Protector, where he participated in some of the film's most impressive stunts. Speaking of which, he's performed stunts for some of the biggest films imaginable, including Avatar, Deadpool 2, and Sucker Punch, as well as TV shows like The Mandalorian, which makes him an ideal fit for this kind of role.
Skank (Kit Harington)
Kit Harington would make for an excellent Skank, particularly due to how similar he is in appearance to the original actor Angel David. However, it's Harington's performance that would sell the whole thing as believable.
The Game of Thrones actor is best known for playing a heroic character in Jon Snow, but the role of Skank would give him the opportunity to let his bad guy side out, all while looking clueless the entire time. Skank looks like a wayward lost soul rather than a truly evil villain, and Harington could definitely evoke that on film.
T-Bird (Peter Stormare)
T-Bird is one of the worst characters in The Crow, particularly due to the callousness at which he murders Shelly and Eric. He shows no remorse for his actions, even going so far as to refer to the whole incident as a "simple sweep and clear."
Peter Stormare has been playing repugnant bad guys for a very long time now, and that typecast would make him a great fit for the role of T-Bird. He'd also fit the part better than original actor David Patrick Kelly, whose performance was too light in comparison to how awful his character was.
Myca (Karen Fukuhara)
Karen Fukuhara has recently made a name for herself thanks to a breakout role in the hit series The Boys, where she plays the superpowered Kimiko. Before that, she starred as Katana in 2016's Suicide Squad. She's capable of playing very dark and aggressive characters, which would make her a natural fit for Myca.
In the original film, Myca was played by Bai Ling. The character is known for having a strong interest in the occult and routinely engaged in a series of gruesome rituals believed to grant both she and her half-brother Top Dollar supernatural powers.
Shelly (Evangeline Lilly)
Shelly is, by all accounts, the most innocent and pure character in The Crow, and the reason for Eric Draven's happiness. Her death traumatizes him to such a degree that he comes back from the dead to put down those responsible. Actress Sofia Shinas played Shelly in the first film, and turned out a short but memorable performance.
A modern-day remake should expand on Shelly's character a little more, and that would mean including an actress with the sweetness inherent to the character. It's hard to think of an actress other than Evangeline Lilly for that role. She's played a number of tough girl characters over the years, but it would be nice to see her in a softer role.
Albrecht (D.B. Woodside)
Actor D.B. Woodside made a solid name for himself with appearances in action films like Romeo Must Die, and later, as President Wayne Palmer in the hit TV series 24. Since then, he's gone on to star in S.W.A.T, Lucifer, and The Fixer, to name a few.
Ghostbusters cast member Ernie Hudson played Darryl Albrecht, the police officer who investigates the murders of Eric and Shelly in the first film. Woodside has the same approachability, mixed with a keen and serious sense that would lend itself well to a guy trying his best to solve a supernatural mystery.
Darla (Charlize Theron)
If there's one thing Charlize Theron has proved, it's that she can weave herself into any film role and make it her own. Over the years, she's gone from glamour to a serial killer in Monster, a tortured freedom fighter in Mad Max: Fury Road, and an MI6 agent in Atomic Blonde.
The role of Darla should prove no problem for someone of Theron's acting skills. The character is the mother to Sarah who just happens to be a morphine addict with ties to Top Dollar's criminal gang. Her path to redemption is a tough one, but it's a performance that Theron would bring to life in stunning clarity.
Top Dollar (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
Michael Wincott's gravelly voice and bad boy typecasting made him a perfect fit for the villainous role of Top Dollar in the first Crow film. Jeffrey Dean Morgan has a similar ability to drift into bad guy roles, and he'd make for an interesting version of the character.
Morgan's portrayal would need to be toned down in comparison to his performance as Negan in The Walking Dead. That should be easy enough for him to pull off, especially if he's dressed up to the nines to look the part, complete with long hair extensions and a bit of makeup.
Sarah (Thomasin McKenzie)
Young actress Thomasin McKenzie has already made a splash for her appearances in film, most recently M. Night Shyamalan's Old. There, she played a young 16-year-old Maddox dealing with the throes of hyper-fast growth and the confusion of aging decades over the space of a single day.
She's also quite similar to original Crow actress Rochelle Davis, who starred in only three other films after the film. McKenzie is capable of portraying vulnerable yet very brave young girls, which is a necessity for the kind of hard life endured by Sarah in the film.
Eric Draven (Sebastian Stan)
It's hard to find an actor with the exact mix of qualities and traits present in the late Brandon Lee, which means the role of Eric Draven would need to drift outside the box a bit. The actor would need to be younger in years in order to sell his believability as a hard-rocking, young-loving heartthrob like Draven.
Sebastian Stan already has experience dealing with fight scenes in action films, thanks to his appearance as Bucky in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's similar enough to Lee to be a believable Crow as well, since he's already played a character coping with deep trauma in the form of the Winter Soldier.