‘The Crow’: Creator James O’Barr Talks About Luke Evans

James O’Barr, the creator of The Crow, is sharing some thoughts about the new film and specifically about Luke Evans in the role of Eric Draven.

The film will be directed by Spaniard F. Javier Gutierrez, who is making his English language directorial debut with The Crow after his 2008 success with Before The Fall.

One of the most tragic events in the movie industry took place during the filming of the 1994 original, when Brandon Lee died from an accidental gunshot wound while on set.

Even though Lee didn’t have a lengthy career, The Crow turned him into a cinematic legend and for fans of the movie it is somewhat of sacred ground.

Now that is has been announced that Luke Evans (Fast And Furious 6, Immortals) will be reprising Lee’s epic role, Gutierrez, O’Barr. and Evans are trying to convince the fan base of why this new version is a good idea.

Total Film magazine talked to O’Barr about the The Crow, which Gutierrez prefers not to call a “reboot”, so we will honor his wishes.

He said that Gutierrez convinced him to join the project after he was completely opposed to touching the story again.

“It was his idea to go right back to the source material and essentially shoot it shot-for-shot, as in the book, but with a little more back story for some of the characters.” O’Barr tells Total Film.

“He wants to be as faithful as possible, even down to all the visual metaphors of trains and horses.” he adds.

Speaking of Luke Evans, in the role of murdered musician Eric Draven, James O’Barr says,

“The producers showed me some shots of Luke Evans in the make-up and the tragedy really shows on his face, especially his eyes. He has a really commanding screen presence.”

Producers wanted Evans, badly, after Bradley Cooper stepped down from the role. They booked him and worked around his busy schedule to agree on an early 2014 date to begin filming.

Many may not know this, but Luke Evans is also a talented singer. He began his career in musical theater in London and had roles in productions such as Rent, Piaf, and Miss Saigon. Maybe this will be an opportunity to show this part of his many talents. This writer surely hopes so.

There is no release date set for The Crow. Luke Evans is currently filming Dracula in Northern Ireland.