Comics
‘The Crow’ Reboot Back in Development [Exclusive]
Will The Crow ever take flight again?
You can’t help but feel like this franchise is cursed, from the shocking on-set death of Brandon Lee to Dimension Films’ butchery of The Crow: City of Angels back in 1996. In fact, it’s been 15 years since the direct-to-DVD release of The Crow: Wicked Prayer, which put Edward Furlong in the boots of the resurrected revenge-seeker.
After a long period of gestation and behind the scenes issues, Sony Pictures had dated their long-delayed The Crow reboot for October 11, 2019. The Nun‘s Corin Hardy had been attached to direct, with Jason Momoa playing the iconic role of the vengeful Eric Draven. Pre-production was officially underway when all of a sudden it was announced that both Hardy and Momoa had exited the project. While it was pretty clear then that The Crow wouldn’t be resurrected, Sony officially pulled the film off their release slate back in July of 2018.
Now, after nearly two years on ice, Bloody Disgusting can exclusively report that The Crow is once again being retooled for a rebirth, with the project back in active development.
The Crow follows Eric Draven, who returns from the dead to track down his killers and avenge his murdered fiancé with the help of a mystical bird.
Samuel Hadida’s Davis Films, Highland Film Group and Electric Shadow previously acquired the rights to finance, produce and distribute the film, and are allegedly all still involved in bringing the cult character back to the big screen. It will be with a new writer and director.
Pulled from creator James O’Barr’s comic, The Crow was adapted to the big screen in 1994 and was followed by three sequels and a short-lived television series. The character is somewhat of a pop culture icon and has made his way onto shirts, posters, and been immortalized in plastic as toys.
It’s only a matter of time until The Crow finds its revenge.
Watch this spot for more news as it comes in.
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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