As was widely rumored, Jamie Foxx is your new Spawn.
Announced via Deadline, Foxx will soon suit up as the titular character in the Blumhouse production “Spawn,” which will be directed and written by creator Todd McFarlane. Foxx will play Al Simmons, an ex-special forces badass, who is burned alive and killed. His soul is then sent to Hell where he makes a deal with an evil being known as Malebolgia to come back to Earth to avenge his death and see his wife again.
McFarlane has previously said that this version of the story will be completely different than the horrible 1997 adaptation. He has been quoted quite a bit referencing “Jaws” as his inspiration for the new film, with Spawn as more of a force of nature that is not seen all the time. With a star like Jamie Foxx now attached, one has to wonder if Foxx’s role is still going to be limited.
READ MORE: Todd McFarlane Explains How ‘Spawn’ Will Be Like ‘Jaws’
As you might expect, McFarlane was amped on the announcement of Foxx starring:
“There are five or six moments where I’m going to need things from my actors, and a couple of them have to come from Jamie, and I’ve seen him deliver them onscreen. He gets into a zone, with body language and a look that basically will say way more than anything I could type on a piece of paper, and this movie is going to need those moments. And in the odd moment where he has to deliver a line that’s short, curt and has impact, he can do it in a way that makes you go, ‘whoa, I don’t want to mess with that guy. What a badass.’”
And according to the writer-director, Foxx was always his first choice for the role, and he even wrote the script with the actor in mind. “Jamie came to my office five years ago, and he had an idea about Spawn and we talked about it,” McFarlane said. “I never forgot him, and when I was writing this script, you sort of plug people in, and he was my visual guy and I never let go of him. When I got done and my agents and everybody was talking about what actor, I said, I’m going to Jamie first and until he says no I don’t want to think about anyone else because I’ve never had anyone else in my head. Luckily, he hadn’t forgotten either. I said, ‘hey, I’m back to talk about Spawn again, and he was like, let’s do it.’”
Foxx also released a statement, showing that the actor has been working hard to land the role and couldn’t be more excited for the team that’s working on the new film:
“A few years back I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe… Todd McFarlane. He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character Spawn…. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity… well… the opportunity is here!! I’m humbled and ready to transform… and to top things off the young Jason Blum is lending his brilliance to the project! Time to be great!!!! #Spawn.”
Todd McFarlane also referenced a recent film as an example of the way his film will handle Spawn’s origin story, saying that he’s playing the long game with this franchise. “I’ve got a trilogy in mind here, and I’m not inclined in this first movie to do an origin story. I’m mentally exhausted from origin stories…In ‘A Quiet Place,’ the first thing on screen is a card in black and white letters that says Day 89. It doesn’t care about what happened in those first 88 days. There are a couple headlines, but then we are on day 450. That movie doesn’t worry about explaining and giving all the answers,” he explained.
There’s no release date for “Spawn” as of now.