Now before we collectively huff in discontent at the bitter fate of a loved franchise, let's cut Stephen Norrington just a little bit of slack. Since the Victorian dangleberry that was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, he has been hanging his head in shame - having not made a single film since. So we should give him a chance to redeem himself. After all, he did bring us Blade...
Norrington has been picked to write and direct a fresh take on The Crow, first adapted for screen by Alex Proyas in 1994. Although it may be difficult to rival the gloriously gothic and stylized world of the rock musician who returns from the dead to avenge his girlfriend's death that the Dark City director conjoured nearly 15 years ago, Norrington promises his take will be "almost documentary-style."
Taking influence from James O'Barr's original comic-book material, Norrington will have to engage the same sense of anger and bereavement which infused the O'Barr's work (who lost his teen sweetheart in a tragic drink-driving incident and used his work to cope); and indeed the first film. Whilst making The Crow, star Brandon Lee was hit by one of the blanks in a shoot-out scene, killing him just days before he was due to marry his fiancee and finish the film.
Although Vincent Perez stepped in as a different version of the hero for follow up, The Crow: City Of Angels, he never managed to live up to the legend of Lee in fans' minds - and the character will be just as difficult to cast now. So, who would you have as The Crow?