Two Hollywood production companies are to move forward with their planned remake of The Crow, the 1994 Alex Proyas comic-book adaptation which starred Brandon Lee in his final film, after resolving a legal battle over rights.

The Weinstein Company, the firm owned by Oscar-winning producer Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob, and Relativity Media had looked set for a lengthy court battle over the project. They have now agreed on a private settlement which will see both partners moving forward with the film.

The Crow remake was at one point set to star The Hangover's Bradley Cooper in the role of Eric Draven, a musician who is brutally murdered, and then comes back to life to avenge his own killing and that of his fiancée. The original film, based on the comic book series by James O'Barr, has attained cult status in the years since its release, a contributory factor being Lee's tragic on-set death. The actor, son of martial arts star Bruce, received an accidental gunshot wound while filming and later died in hospital. The movie was subsequently rewritten and completed using already-filmed footage of the actor.

The legal spat between the Weinstein Company and Relativity had revolved around a dispute over the 2009 film Nine, Rob Marshall's musical tribute to Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. Relativity said the Weinstein Company had failed to properly distribute the film, which bombed at the box office, so decided to move ahead with its remake of The Crow using a different distributor. The Weinstein Company then sued claiming a breach of a 2009 agreement for it to distribute the film.