The long-in-development reboot of The Crow has gone through a vast number of attached talent in its pained journey just to get the end of pre-production, including stars Mark Walhberg and Bradley Cooper, screenwriter Nick Cave, and first assigned director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later). The latest director on the project is F. Javier Gutierrez (Before the Fall) and most recently it looked like Tom Hiddleston of Thor and The Avengers was in talks to star in the title role, as was Alexander Skarsgard of True Blood fame.

Well, the news of either Hiddleston or Skarsgard’s imminent casting seems to have been little more than wishful thinking on the part of many because it appears that the role has been filled by Welsh actor Luke Evans, soon to be seen in Fast & the Furious 6 and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Evans, who recently also signed on to star in Universal Pictures’ summer 2014 release Dracula Year Zero, could previously be seen in the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans as well as Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood and the 3D re-do of The Three Musketeers.

Known for his roles in Thor, War Horse, Midnight in Paris, and Marvel’s The Avengers, Tom Hiddleston is in early discussions to play Eric Draven in Relativity Media’s reimagining of The Crow.

Based on the James O’Barr comic book series that was previously adapted as a 1994 Miramax movie starring Brandon Lee, The Crow follows a man who comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée’s murder.

The 1994 film, directed by Alex Proyas, was a a critical and commercial success for Miramax. While the film is remembered for Proyas’ unique visual style, the death of Brandon Lee will forever haunt the supernatural superhero film. During production at Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina, Lee suffered an accidental gunshot while filming.

Each and every week “Donner” Henchman21 AND “Blitzen” MK2Fac3 read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible… theoretically. Naturally, they looks forward to some more than others. I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull lists, grab some comics, and they’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of December 12, 2012. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

This Wednesday is a special day. I mean, 12/12/12 must have some kind of numerological significance or something. More than that, it’s a day for new comics, which is good news for everyone. So, here are a few books to check out this week. Remember, comics make a great gift during this joyous time of year, so pick up a few to hand out or just buy a bunch for yourself. This ain’t no naughty or nice list, it’s the GoD List!

Check out these 9-Page advance preview galleries of the IDW Publishing comics hitting store shelves tomorrow, July 11, 2012.

After The Fire 100-Page Spectacular
Battle Beasts #1 (of 4)
The Crow #1
Doctor Who 100-Page Spectacular
Ghostbusters, Vol. 2: The Most Magical Place On Earth
G.I. Joe #15
Locke & Key, Vol. 5: Clockworks
Smoke and Mirrors #4 (of 5)
Star Trek Ongoing, Vol. 2
Transformers: Regeneration One #81
Transformers: Regeneration One 100-Page Spectacular
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 2: Enemies Old, Enemies New
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics #3

For several years now a movie based on the popular Bioshock video game franchise has been in development. At one point Gore Verbinski (the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies) was in the director’s chair, but couldn’t come to an agreement with the studio about the film’s projected budget and his demand for an R-rating. Verbinski assumed producing duties instead and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) took over as director. But now it looks like the Spanish filmmaker is no longer involved with the long-gestating Bioshock movie either.

“To be honest, by now, I’m completely out of that, and developing other stuff,” Fresnadillo said in an interview with the Playlist while promoting his latest film Intruders. “Right now it’s on hold. The studio and the videogame company, they have to reach some kind of agreement about the budget and the rating.” Despite the popularity of the Bioshock games the franchise has a very limited fanbase outside the gaming community and wouldn’t necessarily justify the sizable nine-figure budget required to bring the game to life on the big screen. Verbinski looks to be staying on as producer.

Now that the lawsuit between Relativity Media and The Weinstein Company regarding the distribution rights to the planned remake of The Crow has been settled, movement on the project is being fast forwarded.

In a matter of about an hour earlier today, it was reported that a new writer and a new director had been chosen to remake The Crow. Relativity has chosen F. Javier Gutierrez (Before the Fall, The Monkey’s Paw) to direct, and Jesse Wigutow (Irreparable Harm, The Osterman Weekend) to write the script.

That noise you just heard were the mutual releasing of breath by the legions of goth kids and Hot Topic employees who will now likely be able to see a new version of their beloved franchise, The Crow.

Deadline is reporting that the pair of Relativity and The Weinstein Company have come to a settlement regarding the rights to The Crow after TWC claimed that they owned all distribution rights to the franchise. The settlement leaves the duo of companies working together on the franchise reboot, allowing for the project to now move forward once again.

I was about to start out this gift guide by writing some pretentious crap about the unifying power of cinema and television and how the greatest art form of the past century would make the perfect Christmas gift for that demanding loved one of yours, but then I put down the cough syrup and slapped some sense into myself.

But it is true that when you’re not sure what to buy someone as a present you can always surprise them with a fine movie or a boxed set of their favorite television series. Then as you sit back and watch their face light up with the joy of angels singing harmoniously in Heaven when they open the gift you can take a sip of spiked egg nog and let out a hearty Errol Flynn laugh because you are victorious and you didn’t even try.

That’s why we here at Geeks of Doom want to aid you in your soul-destroying quest to find that ideal DVD or Blu-ray if you’ve got the extra dough (and you drink silver chalices full of orphan tears), for that special someone in your life.

Every day, Amazon offers up “Lightning Deals,” limited quantities of various products for a discounted price for a 4-hour window of time. You have to be on the lookout for these deals and once the item runs out, the sale is over. Meaning, if you see something on sale that you want, buy it immediately before it’s gone.

Typically you don’t know what will be on sale until the minute it gets posted, but as a prelude to Black Friday, Amazon has released the Lightning Deal schedule and prices for Movies & TV on DVD and Blu-ray for Monday, November 21, starting at 8:30am PST. See list of Monday’s deals here below, along with more information on how these special deals work.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011

8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PST

The Cider House Rules
Blu-ray – $4.99

Muppet Five-Pack with Tin
DVD – $49.99

HD MOODS: Aquarium
Blu-ray – $7.49

HD MOODS: Fire
Blu-ray – $5.99

The reboot of The Crow that has been in development for more than two years has so far gone through two directors and two lead actors and shown no signs of progress. Last month Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) departed the project and prospective star Bradley Cooper also moved on to greener pastures, but before they left Fresnadillo was working with comic artist Diego Latorre on conceptual designs for the film including many renderings of what Cooper would look like as Eric Draven, the murdered guitarist who returns from the dead to avenge his death and that of his girlfriend Shelley. You can check out a sample image here below.