The legal battle between The Weinstein Company and Relativity is over, and The Crow reboot is looking like a foregone conclusion.

Director F. Javier Gutierrez and writer Jesse Wigutow have signed on to once again adapt the James O’Barr graphic novel about a slain musician resurrected for vengeance.

Gutierrez’s sci-fi debut Before the Fall has garnered him awards from bodies as diverse as the Cinema Writers Circle and Screamfest. He is currently in pre-production on an adaptation of The Monkey’s Paw.

Wigutow wrote the 2003 dramedy It Runs in the Family and the upcoming Irreparable Harm. He has also worked on the adaptations of Eragon and The Ruins.

Casting announcements are expected over the next few days.

Things seemed to be going well for the upcoming reboot of the penultimate 1990′s goth film The Crow. The studio managed to lock down hot screenwriter Alex Tse (Watchmen) to pen the script, and 28 Weeks Later’s Juan Carlos Fresnadillo signed on to direct. Shortly after that, the production was able to lock in Hangover star Bradley Cooper as the gloomy hero of the film. Sadly, it looks like “lock” was not meant to be taken seriously.

It seems that Cooper is backing out of the production due to scheduling conflicts. Sadly, that means Relativity Media needs to go back to the drawing board to find a new rock and roll zombie for this upcoming reboot. THR has the report.

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’sParadise 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.

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When we live in a world where a film like Footloose warrants a remake, why wouldn’t another classic and iconic film like The Crow get a reboot for a modern audience? That’s exactly what Relativity Media thinks, as they’re moving forward with a remake or “reinvention” of the 1994 comic book adaptation.

It looks like they’re moving so quickly towards this idea that a screenwriter has even been found. Alex Tse, who adapted Alan Moore’s Watchmen to screen with Zack Snyder is looking to reinvent the tale of the man who couldn’t die.

Relativity Media’s President of Worldwide Production, Tucker Tooley, and Edward R. Pressman, producer behind the cult-classic The Crow franchise, announced today they have attached Alex Tse (Watchmen) to write their reinvention of The Crow, the 1994 critically acclaimed, sensation based on the comic book series and comic strip by James O’Barr.

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Bradley Cooper is a hot commodity right now. Whether he’s exploring his potential in Limitless, being eyed to play The Flash in David Goyer’s upcoming film for Warner Bros., or taking on yet another blackout in The Hangover Part II, everyone seems to want a piece of him.

Now the action/comedy star is being eyed for the lead role in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s upcoming remake of The Crow. A bit darker than his normal role, but we can still see it happening. THR has the lowdown.

In the adaptation of the gritty black-and-white indie comic by artist James O’Barr, Cooper will play a rock musician who is murdered while trying to save his fiancée from thugs. He is resurrected by supernatural forces and seeks revenge. The role was originally played by Brandon Lee, who was killed by a freak accident during production in 1993.

Relativity is flying fast with Crow, with Fresnadillo only officially boarding the project a week ago. The Spanish director of 28 Weeks Later is said to have met with Cooper in Spain recently, where the two hit it off and shared a vision for the character and the film. Relativity would not confirm the talks but sources say Cooper, currently in theaters in Relativity’s hit thriller Limitless, is keen to board the project.

The film is set to start in the Fall, and could have a completely different take on the classic tale that gave teens an excuse to wear black leather and nail polish back in the 90s. Let’s hope Fresnadillo can still get Ernie Hudson to reprise his role.

We can add yet another film reboot to our growing list of projects which already includes Predators, Logan’s Run, Escape from New York, Planet of the Apes and so many more. Yes, that’s right it looks like director Steven Norrington is going forward with his reboot of The Crow.

Remembered by many as the film during which actor Brandon Lee died, it was a stylistic thriller from director Alex Proyas, who went on to do the equally stylistic Dark City and the less-than-stellar I, Robot. Now, the reboot is going full ahead and MTV Splashpage has got some scoop on the film from producer Ed Pressman.

According to Pressman, Norrington’s screenplay is finished and his vision for the film is inching much closer to reality, with casting announcements on the way and filming beginning this year. In addition, the movie will deviate significantly in locale and the Crow itself will also play a larger role in the film.

In case you’re not familiar with the story it concerns a man named Eric who’s fiance is murdered in front of him. He is resurrected by a crow and seeks vengeance on his murderers. He is immortal and can only be injured when the crow itself is hurt.

Pressman expects to begin shooting The Crow later this year for a projected release early in 2011.

Building on the success of Avatar, the seemingly everywhere Sam Worthington has apparently already picked his next role: Dracula. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Worthington is currently in negotiations to star in director Alex Proyas’ vampire epic Dracula Year Zero for Universal and producer Michael De Luca.

The film, written by Matt Sazama and Buck Sharpless, will explore the origins of Dracula and his ties to Vlad the Impaler. It will reportedly portray the titular vampire as both demonic evil and tragic, flawed hero. The film currently has no start date and is still in development.

As a fan of Proyas’ previous work with The Crow and Dark City, I’m hopeful his take on Dracula will be equally as visually compelling and also feature interesting characters and situations. That said, the movie does sound a lot like Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version of Dracula, which featured Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder.

As for Worthington, I’m still not convinced that he’s the “next big thing” even as studios shove him in our faces more and more. I just don’t find him that interesting. No matter what, I guess we’ll find out how he handles Dracula when this film eventually hits theaters.

One film that clearly doesn’t need a remake in my opinion is The Crow. The original is simply timeless in its execution and I feel remaking it will undermine that brilliance. However, sometimes you just can’t stop Hollywood from making a buck (or millions as the case may be).

io9 spoke with producer Ryan Kavanaugh about the upcoming remake film, which according to him is “definitely going to happen.”  Such a definitive statement makes me cringe a little. That said, I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve seen the film.

While no actors have been attached to the project as of ye,t Kavanaugh did state:

“We’re looking. We’re in discussions….I think it’s something cool, we’re approaching it differently. It’s really a whole relaunch of the franchise, much more of a dark superhero type.”

In addition, there was one comment Kavanaugh made that didn’t make much sense to me. That is his poignant statement, “It’s not a remake it’s literally a relaunch of the franchise.”  Is anyone else getting a little tired of Hollywood executives trying to avoid the dreaded “r” word?  Reboot.  Remake.  Relaunch.  Sorry guys, it’s all the same thing no matter how you try and spin it.

That aside, The Crow story in of itself is a good one. I hope this new film will do the original justice. My only concern is that there were a lot of sequels after the first movie and a TV show, all of which flopped. Here’s hoping the new Crow will return in much better form.