Bradley Cooper Exits 'The Crow' as Other Actors Circle (Exclusive)

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“As the crow flies” may denote the shortest route from one place to another, but the movie version of The Crow is proving to be less than a straight shot.

Relativity is remaking the supernatural action movie based on the 1990s comic and has set Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct.

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. 

Walhberg has a previous association with the Crow; he was offered the part last fall but a deal never materialized. But there is a question as to whether he wants to revisit the role, and last week he signed on to Universal's 2 Guns action pic. 

Tatum is best known for his work in G.I. Joe and the weepie Dear John.

It’s too early to tell what will happen with either Tatum or Walhberg, or whether other actors join the fray, although Relativity is keen on not wasting time.

The studio also is embroiled in litigation with The Weinstein Co. over distribution rights to the film. Harvey and Co. believe they have a deal to release the film but Relativity argues that the Weinsteins forfeited their right by, among other things, botching the release of the expensive Relativity-backed flop Nine. That case is currently in arbitration.

Crow, created by James O’Barr, centered on a musician who is murdered while trying to save his fiancée from thugs. He is brought back from the dead by supernatural forces and seeks revenge. The role was originally played by Brandon Lee, who was killed by a freak accident during production of the original movie in 1993.

The new film is being produced by Edward R. Pressman, Jeff Most, Relativity's CEO Ryan Kavanaugh and Apaches Entertainment's Enrique LopezLavigne and Belen Atienza.

Relativity had no comment.

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