Relativity Studios is reportedly in negotiations with Andrea Riseborough to play Top Dollar, the lead villain in Relativity’s remake of James O’Barr’s 1990s revenge epic The Crow.

Riseborough, an accomplished actress who was in Birdman, Brighton Rock, and will star as Rosalind in National Theater’s production of As You Like It in November, will join a Crow cast that already includes Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as Eric Draven in the film that Corin Hardy is directing (see "Star Cast for 'Crow' Remake").

Deadline is reporting that Riseborough will play Top Dollar, "the baddest of bad guys" in the original 1994 Crow movie, where the prime villain was played by Michael Wincott.  The gender switch for Top Dollar is definitely an interesting twist.  Will Hardy and screenwriter Claire Wilson be able to inject enough new elements in The Crow remake so that it will stand comparison with the Brandon Lee original and speak to a new generation that has grown up in the 20+ years since the original film debuted?  Only time will tell.