Bradley Cooper leaves The Crow

The upcoming remake of cult gothic actioner The Crow had hit a casting snag with the news that Bradley Cooper has left the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Cooper was set to follow in Brandon Lee’s footsteps as undead avenger Eric Draven, but with The Hangover star already attached to David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook and the upcoming Paradise Lost adaptation, it seems that The Crow has fallen by the wayside.

Heat Vision is now reporting that Mark Wahlberg and Channing Tatum are the current frontrunners to step into the role, with Relativity Media looking to move quickly to plug their unwanted vacancy.

Wahlberg has already been offered the role once, when Stephen Norrington was attached to the project back in October 2010. Having turned it down before, we’d be surprised to see him reconsider at this stage, particularly since his last turn as a nihilistic avenger ( Max Payne , anyone?) was met with such a lukewarm reception.

Channing Tatum might be a more realistic option, although with a schedule every bit as frantic as Cooper’s (he has Blood Brothers , Magic Mike and G.I. Joe 2 all on the horizon), he too seems somewhat unlikely.

The Crow will be directed by 28 Weeks Later helmer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, with filming set to begin in early 2012.

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.