The Crow Creator Wants Sam Witwer For Reboot

James O’Barr, writer and artist behind the original graphic novel ‘The Crow,’ has declared his preferred actor to replace almost-leading man Luke Evans - and it’s ‘Being Human’ and ‘Smallville’ actor Sam Witwer.

O’Barr appeared at Wizard World Comic Con in Madison, Wisconsin this past weekend, and Blastr report that ‘The Crow’ creator, on board the reboot as a creative consultant, is “pushing hard” for director Corin Hardy to cast Witwer as Eric Draven, the rock musician who is murdered along with his girlfriend, and returns from the grave to seek vengeance.

While Blastr do not provide any direct quotes from O’Barr himself, they report that he “has been in communication” with the 37 year old US actor, who has appeared in four seasons of the American remake of BBC supernatural drama ‘Being Human,’ on top of doing a year on ‘Smallville.’

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Witwer - who reportedly told O’Barr he’d “mow the creator’s lawn for the rest of their lives” to play Eric Draven - has not had any leading film roles to date, though he can be seen in ‘Crank,’ ‘The Mist,’ ‘Pathology’ and ‘Gamer.’ He also provides the voice of Darth Maul in TV’s ‘Star Wars: the Clone Wars.’

Going for a relative unknown for ‘The Crow’ might seem a bold move, after such big names as Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg and Tom Hiddleston were all linked to the role - but we might bear in mind that the 1994 original cast the similarly lesser-known Brandon Lee (notoriously killed in an on-set accident) over such reported big name contenders as Johnny Depp and Christian Slater.

O’Barr also reportedly went into some detail on the hold-ups affecting the long-in development reboot. It turns out there were simple business reasons for the departure of Luke Evans; the option on his contract had expired, and given that the actor has become a significantly bigger name since first signing on to make ‘The Crow,’ his asking price has naturally also gone up.

It seems money matters may already be quite a concern for the production, as O’Barr reportedly also admitted that the film has already spent $20 million in pre-production alone.

O’Barr is also said to have declared - in line with comments already made by director Corin Hardy - that the new film will be based first and foremost on the original graphic novel rather than the 1994 movie. Still, O’Barr admits liking “Brandon’s film,” though he understandably expresses disdain for its “s***ty sequels.”

No release date is set yet for ‘The Crow,’ but it is expected to go into production this spring.

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Picture Credit: WENN, SyFy, Edward R Pressman Film