The Crow is a movie that, like its protagonist, managed to find a second life for itself long after its release in 1994. It continues to hold a cult status today for its dark theme and pioneering of the gritty superhero story arc, but of course it bears even more recognition as the film which resulted in the tragic death of its lead, Brandon Lee.

Much like the recent passing of Heath Ledger and The Dark Knight (Nobody saw ‘Imaginarium‘ so it doesn’t count, before you jump down my throat), The Crow stands as the final showcase of Lee’s promising talent, so it carries an almost memorial-like status for fans. It’s a delicate thing to steamroll over, but that’s just what Relativity Media are trying to do.

In April, Relativity was interested in Bradley Cooper to star, but he had to drop out for ‘scheduling reasons’ and while the studio looked at replacing him with Channing Tatum or Mark Wahlberg, the project inevitably was put on hold (hopefully to beat the casting director with a chair), as quoted here by Hollywood Reporter:

“Bradley Cooper was to have played the title character but sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that he has now exited due to scheduling conflicts. Cooper has David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook shooting this fall and then dives straight into Legendary’s Paradise Lost, which shoots first quarter next year…the exact time Relativity plans on making the high-priority Crow […] But akin to the project’s rock musician who is killed and resurrected, two new names have surfaced as possible replacements: Channing Tatum and Mark Wahlberg.”

With Cooper out and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo following suit, the production seems to be dead in the water, but we are now able to check out a slew of just-released concept art by Diego Latorre, courtesy Shock Till You Drop, which gives us a look at the general tone and direction the remake would have followed:

From Latorre himself: “‘The Crow’ images published are very early production sketches and are based in my own visual interpretation of the character and not necessarily in Apaches Entertainment and director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s vision.”

For all the concept art, click here. To reminisce on the days before they tried to give The Crow cornrows, click here.