I keep forgetting that James McTiegue’s The Raven will hit early next year, but every time it pops up on my radar I get a little excited. I have no idea if the V for Vendetta director will turn out something as rich and juicy as I might like about Poe’s life, but a stylish historical crime story starring John Cusack as the troubled P.I. (poet investigator) could be a lot of fun. In any event, there are a few new stills today that definitely suggest the The Raven will be a brooding and contrasty as you’d expect.

With McTiegue behind this it’s hard not to think it will have some kind of energetic, mainstream sensibility behind it, even if I’m not expecting a full-on Sherlock Holmes action take on the idea of Poe. The downtrodden ending that ties the story up with Poe’s mysterious death certainly doesn’t excite much franchise potential…

I have to say, the stills also show that Alice Eve is facially-channeling some Reese Witherspoon like whoa.

Is this film exciting you at all, be it for John Cusack or the story itself?

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(via Awards Daily)