It’s been a long, tough road for Todd McFarlane’s “Spawn” reboot film. Over the years, we’ve seen the creator proudly exclaim he was going to write and direct the low-budget, gritty, hard-R reboot of his superhero comic. We’ve seen actors come and go. We’ve seen relentless hype from McFarlane, talking about how amazing the film is going to be. We’ve even seen reports that production was going to be happening soon. Well, apparently, even though there have been years of development, it would seem that the “Spawn” reboot is back at square one.
According to THR, Todd McFarlane is relinquishing screenwriting duties on the “Spawn” reboot film, and he has hired Todd Silver, Malcolm Spellman, and Matthew Mixon to write a new script for the upcoming superhero feature. Silver is probably best known as the writer of “Joker,” while Spellman recently was head writer of Marvel’s “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” as well as the writer of the upcoming “Captain America: New World Order.” Mixom, on the other hand, is relatively new to the screenwriting game. Nevertheless, that’s an impressive trio of writers all working on “Spawn.”
“I grew up in Berkeley, which is a comic book city. Todd McFarlane’s ‘Spawn’ character was always one of my favorites — a Black superhero that was no bullshit, he was cool and dealt with modern issues,” said Spellman. “Myself, Matt Mixon, and Scott Silver are pledged to honoring what Todd started and what ‘Spawn’ is at its core, delivering something that’s relevant and edgy and unlike any other superhero movie out there.”
In addition to that news, the report claims that McFarlane is looking at potentially stepping away from the director’s chair, as well. With the influx of some well-seasoned writers, McFarlane reportedly is understanding that he might not be the right choice to serve as director. We’ll have to see how that all comes together.
“If we’ve got an A-list actor, A-list producers, A-list writers, then do you want to shoot for A-list directors, A-list cinematographers?” McFarlane said. “The answer is, ‘Of course.’ Let’s keep the momentum going.”
One thing is staying the same, however. Apparently, Jamie Foxx is still attached to star in the lead role and Blumhouse is onboard as the studio behind the film. Though considering this film is seemingly going back to the drawing board, it’s hard to know what shape “Spawn” will take in the months/years to come.
It’s unclear when we might see “Spawn” come to the big screen. You have to assume that the film is still at least two years away. But it would appear that we’ve finally getting some substantial movement again.