We’ve known that Blade director, Stephen Norrington, was scribing a theatrical remake of 1994’s The Crow for almost a year now by following all the milky Goth tears. And now, according to an unidentified source via Mania, Norrington has finally submitted his script to Relativity Media (The Wolf Man, A Serious Man), where it has been “very well received.”

The source also says that the movie, yet another adaptation of James O’Barr comic book character, is moving forward to the casting stage. What a relief says an unidentified, easily persuaded Crow loyalist. If anything, the tidbit places the project back on our radar, and makes me ponder who should land the role of the undead, murdered rock musician (discussed below). Norrington has avoided the scorn of the franchise’s followers, some of whom rival Juggalos in 24/7 Halloween silliness, by declaring his script a revamp and not a remake; i.e. The Crow won’t be “Eric Draven,” the one associated with Brandon Lee, the late actor who died on the set in Wilmington, North Carolina from a shootout scene gone awry.

Last year Norrington was quoted with the following:  [the film will be] “realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style” compared to Alex Proyas’s ’90s hard rock noir original. Proyas announced on /Film back in March that he’s against the idea of a remake, but this is arguably like Tim Burton quibbling about future Batman entries. And it sounds as if Norrington is going for an R-rating, which is agreeable enough to hold out on the hate.

I’ll be honest: ever since a chubby Edward Furlong played the broody superhero in the form of a guy named Johnny Cuervo in 2005’s diaper The Crow: Wicked Prayer aka The Crow IV, I can’t resist smirking at future incarnations. (Not to mention the long canceled TV series, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.) My on-crack casting would have a vengeful Noel Fielding from The Mighty Boosh guitar soloing off a foggy rooftop in front of a full moon (which he’d also play) in a hard-R comedy version set in drug-fueled London.

What actor—man or woman—should suit up as The Crow for the aughts? If you say, “The Rock,” you will be banned.