1994’s The Crow, based on the James O’Barr comic book series of the same name, tells the story of Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), who rises from the grave in order to exact revenge on the people responsible for his death. Though the movie was a big success upon release, adapting the source material in a way O’Barr was comfortable with was frustrating. In fact, his first Hollywood meeting almost soured him on the idea altogether.
As O’Barr explains in one of the special features on The Crow’s two-disc DVD release from 2001, a producer proposed turning his dark, violent comic into a musical. And who did this unnamed executive have in mind for the lead role before Lee got involved, you ask? Baffingly, he wanted none other than pop superstar Michael Jackson to sing and, presumably, dance his way through murdering a bunch of people.
Julien Temple, who’d directed music videos for everyone from the Sex Pistols to Tom Petty, was the top choice to direct this version.
‘The Crow’ Was Almost a Michael Jackson Musical
“I thought it was a joke, you know? I started laughing,” O’Barr recalled of the suggestion. “But he was completely serious, and that’s how it is in Hollywood,” he continued. “It’s like there’s this beautiful tree and every dog that comes along has to piss on it. And it got to the point where I was like, ‘What the hell? Why did you even buy this thing if you wanna completely change it into something unrecognizable?’”
According to O’Barr, each new studio idea seemed to push the story further and further from the original concept. It wasn’t until Lee and director Alex Proyas got involved—after Christian Slater dropped out—that things started getting back on track. The two were reportedly big fans of the comics and insisted on doing something more faithful to them.
The post The Wildest Version of ‘The Crow’ Almost Starred Michael Jackson appeared first on VICE.
