Relativity Media has been trying for a while to bring ‘The Crow’ back to the big screen, but it’s been a bumpy ride so far. Rather than being yet another straight-to-video sequel as has been the case with the last few Crow films, this new movie is set to be a reboot of the entire franchise. Stephen Norrington (‘Blade’) wrote the original script for ‘The Crow’ and was also set to direct. As early as June 2010, word was the filming was about to begin on ‘The Crow’, but things have been unkind to the project since then.

First Norrington’s script went back to the drawing board as musician/writer Nick Cave, best known for his Australian western ‘The Proposition’ was brought on to do touch-ups to the script. When Cave came on board Mark Wahlberg was also tapped for the starring role of Eric Drave (played in the 1994 film by Brandon Lee). Then the whole thing got an complete overhaul with Norrington, Cave, and Wahlberg leaving the project. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (’28 Weeks Later’) was brought onto the project and, with him, came an entirely new script from Alex Tse (‘The Watchmen’). At this time, Bradley Cooper (‘The A-Team’) was set to star and it seems like all engines were a go.

Alas, it seems as if ‘The Crow’ reboot is as cursed as its namesake character. Both Fresnadillo and Cooper have since left the project without a director or a star. Since then, Channing Tatum (‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’) has also been in talks for the lead, but nothing has been confirmed. Then, amidst the musical chairs game with directors and actors, came the lawsuit.

Last April, Miramax filed a claim against Relativity claiming that they owned all production rights for ‘The Crow’. With that, it seemed as if the reboot was all but dead. Then yesterday, Collider reported that the lawsuit had been settled out of court and the film is moving forward yet again. This time, Relativity and Miramax will be working on the film together. According to the press release:

The lawsuit between Relativity Media and the Weinstein Company concerning ‘The Crow’ has been amicably settled out of court, and the parties will continue to work on the film together as planned.

There’s no word as to which script, director, or actor that the film is now working with or if things are back going to start from scratch yet again. As a fan of the original Crow comic from James O’Barr and the Brandon Lee film, I don’t think they should be making another film. But, whether us fans of the original want it or not, it seems like a rebooted franchise may finally be coming to theaters.

Update: Just after this story was published, Deadline reported that Jesse Wigutow was in talks to write an entirely new script for ‘The Crow’. Wigutow doesn’t have many credits to his name. He’s mainly written short films and a made-for-TV movie called ‘The Prince’. He currently has a war movie called ‘Irreparable Harm’ in the works as well. So it looks as if the ‘Crow’ movie is a full start-from-scratch kind of deal after all.

Yet another update: Now the Hollywood Reporter has announced that Relativity just signed with F. Javier Gutierrez to direct ‘The Crow’ so it seems like this thing is on the fast track! Like the writer Wigutow, Gutierrez is a relative newcomer to Hollywood having only four films to his directing credit.