‘The Crow’ Remake Casts Andrea Riseborough in Gender-Swapped Villain Role
A remake/reboot of The Crow seemed like a fairly lame idea, but after years of director changes and actor switches, we finally seem to have something interesting on our hands: with a director personally recommended by Edgar Wright, as well as Boardwalk Empire star Jack Huston in the title role, The Crow sounds like it could be, I don’t know, kind of cool? Add another item to the pros column: Andrea Riseborough has been cast as the main villain — a role originally intended for a man.
As Deadline reports, Riseborough (Birdman) will play the role of Top Dollar, a part that was originally male in both the comics and the 1994 film starring Brandon Lee. Michael Wincott originated the role of Top Dollar on the big screen, but the big bad has undergone a gender-swap for the remake, marking yet another interesting development for the film.
The Crow tells the story of rock star Eric Draven, who sets out to avenge the death of his fiancee Shelly after they were both horrifically murdered. Draven is resurrected from the dead by a crow, and given a chance to seek revenge on the men responsible for the killings. Those men are thugs who work for Top Dollar — the villain was a low-level drug dealer in the comics, but was upgraded to the city’s crime boss in the 1994 film. That film also starred Bai Ling as Myca, Top Dollar’s half-sister and lover.
The new remake features Jack Huston in the title role, originated on screen by the late Brandon Lee, with former Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown Findlay in the role of Shelly. Corin Hardy, who directed the acclaimed short film Butterfly as well as the upcoming horror flick The Hallow, will helm the remake, based on a script by Claire Wilson.
It’s been reported that Hardy’s new film will go back to James O’Barr’s original graphic novels for inspiration, making it more of a new adaptation than a remake.