Movie

'Sometimes, when you love something so much, you have to make hard decisions,' the former director of the long-gestating project shares.

• Jun 5, 2018

AceShowbiz - Director Corin Hardy had to make the "hardest decision of all" by walking away from "The Crow" remake, because it was his "dream project".

The long-gestating reboot of the 1994 supernatural thriller, starring the late Brandon Lee, had been cursed by problems for years, but it appeared to be inching closer to production in recent months with Hardy behind the camera and "Justice League" star Jason Momoa tackling the lead role ahead of a 2019 release.

However, just weeks before the Sony Pictures shoot was due to begin in Budapest, Hungary, both Momoa and Hardy quit, and now the filmmaker has opened up about the devastating decision in a post on social media.

"I knew from the off, that the idea of making a new version of The Crow was never going to be for everyone, because it is a beloved film. And I say that as someone in love with it myself," he began. "But I poured everything I had into the last 3.5 years of work, to try & create something which honoured what the Crow stood for; from James O'Barr's affecting graphic novel, to Alex Proyas's original movie, with great respect to Brandon Lee and with the desire to make something bold and new, that myself, as an obsessive fan, could be proud of."

Hardy explains he and his "amazing" crew came "SO close" to achieving that goal with Momoa, but amid reports of creative and financial differences, he's been forced to accept that it wasn't meant to be.

"Sometimes, when you love something so much, you have to make hard decisions," he continued. "And... deciding it was time to let go of this dark & emotional dream project, was the hardest decision of all."

I knew from the off, that the idea of making a new version of The Crow was never going to be for everyone, because it is a beloved film. And I say that as someone in love with it myself. But I poured everything I had into the last 3.5 years of work, to try & create something which honoured what the Crow stood for; from James O’Barr’s affecting graphic novel, to Alex Proyas’s original movie, with great respect to Brandon Lee and with the desire to make something bold and new, that myself, as an obsessive fan, could be proud of. And with @prideofgypsies Jason Momoa, and my amazing team of artists & film-makers, we came SO close. But sometimes, when you love something so much, you have to make hard decisions. And yesterday, deciding it was time to let go of this dark & emotional dream project, was the hardest decision of all. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.

A post shared by Corin Hardy (@corinhardy) on Jun 1, 2018 at 1:07pm PDT

Concluding his sombre statement, Hardy added, "Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever."

Hardy's comments emerge after Momoa insisted he would be ready and willing to return to his "dream role" in the future, but only "when it's right".

Prior to Momoa's casting, Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Luke Evans, and Jack Huston had also been linked to the lead role.

The original thriller became an instant cult favourite after Lee, who portrayed vigilante Eric Draven, was killed by a bullet from a faulty prop gun during filming in 1993.