Will Spawn finally return to the big screen?
Todd McFarlane’s legendary comic book character has been around now for three decades, and it seems like the much-discussed film reboot has languished almost as long. But, if a recent interview can be believed, maybe–just maybe–that long wait is nearing an end.
The supernatural anti-hero was brought to life on the Silver Screen by Michael Jai White back in 1997, and its performance at the box office was good enough to “spawn” an HBO animated series and give hope for a live-action remake as far back as 2015. But the intervening seven years have sadly seen little progress.
Now, according to a report on screenrant.com, McFarlane seems more determined that ever to get the reboot moving forward.
The comic book creator stopped short of making a definite update on the proposed film, but he did say, “Something’s going to give in the next few months, right? There’s too many people pushing in that direction.”
McFarlane pointed to the recent success of such hard-edged super-hero films as Venom as the reason for hope. “They got crazy when the only movies that were making money were super-heroes, and then Venom goes and rocks it,” he said. “So, something has to happen.”
Saying that “we’ll never get to the top of the mountain if we can’t do it now,” the writer/artist added, “I would say it’s now or never.”
The most recent news about the remake had McFarlane as the director and producer, with Brian Tucker in place as screenwriter. Jason Blum is also on board as a producer, and Carla Hacken will serve as executive producer.
The cast, unfortunately, is currently up in the air. Jamie Foxx reportedly was set to headline the feature–with Jeremy Renner (of Hawkeye fame) playing Det. Twitch Williams–but so much time has passed since the announcements that it’s anyone’s guess if those actors would still be available.
The original Spawn–based on McFarlane’s Image Comics series and directed by Mark A.Z. Dippe from a screenplay by Alan B. McElroy–stars White as Al Simmons (aka Spawn). In the comics, Spawn–the murdered Lt. Col. Simmons–was resurrected as the reluctant leader of Hell’s legions.
Keep reading Horror News Network for the next update on the Spawn reboot.
