‘The Crow’ Reboot Officially Casts Jack Huston and Jessica Brown Findlay

The most recent report regarding the upcoming reboot of The Crow suggested that Jack Huston was close to signing on for the role of the iconic goth hero. Today brings official confirmation of Huston’s casting from original Crow creator James O’Barr, who also revealed that Winter’s Tale and Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown Findlay will play the role of the hero’s murdered fiancee.

O’Barr made the announcement at a comic convention (via Dread Central), confirming the casting of Boardwalk Empire star Jack Huston as Eric Draven, aka the Crow. The comic creator said he’s “really happy with that choice,” and revealed that the film begins shooting in the next couple of months. O’Barr also revealed Findlay’s casting as Shelly, Draven’s girlfriend who is seen through flashbacks. So far, this sounds pretty similar to the 1994 film version.

Corin Hardy is directing the new reboot based on O’Barr’s original comic. Hardy is known for his gorgeously dark short film Butterfly as well as the upcoming horror film The Hallow, which premiered at Sundance in January. Although so far the new adaptation sounds similar to the 1994 film, O’Barr claims it will be more faithful to his original graphic novel, including the use of a talking crow. Hardy’s short film featured some striking stop motion elements, so we could likely see similar work with Draven’s feathered companion.

O’Barr also says he hopes the reboot will spawn sequels based on his comic book series, focusing on different characters in different time periods who are revived by the power of the crow and similarly seek vengeance. One thing at a time, guys.

The Crow reboot is promising so far, based on the strength of Hardy’s previous work as well as the excellent casting choices. This has quickly gone from a project we had very little interest in to one that’s fairly attractive.