Luke Evans cast as Eric Draven in The Crow

After a lengthy search which has seen a host of actors linked to the part, Relativity Media has finally ended its search for the lead in the remake of The Crow, with Deadline reporting that Welsh actor Luke Evans has signed on to play Eric Draven in director F. Javier Gutiérrez's (Before the Fall) adaptation of James O'Barr's comic book series.

Since making his feature film debut in 2010's Clash of the Titans, Evans has racked up a number of roles, with appearances in Robin Hood, Tamara Drewe, The Three Musketeers, Immortals and The Raven. He will soon be seen as the bad guy in the action sequel Fast & Furious 6, and is also set to appear as Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: There and Back Again as well as taking on his first lead role in Universal's Dracula reboot.

Since The Crow remake was first announced, numerous actors have been rumoured to be in contention for the role made famous by Brandon Lee is Alex Proyas' 1994 adaptation; Bradley Cooper (The Hangover Part III) was originally attached to the part back when Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) was in the director's chair, and since his departure we've seen the likes of Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: Retaliation), Mark Wahlberg (Pain & Gain), Ryan Gosling (The Place Beyond the Pines), James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) and most recently Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) all mentioned as potential candidates.