Spawn Movie Gets Enthusiastic Update From Todd McFarlane, Confirms R-Rating Plans

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane has an exciting update about the upcoming movie. It will serve as a reboot of the 1997 Spawn franchise, while staying true to McFarlane’s comic depiction of the character. McFarlane recently released a Twitter post confirming the King Spawn title and offering a look at the script’s first page. Despite the confirmation, confusion remains about what the future of the franchise might be and about the greater purpose of the post.

Screen Rant was present at the Todd McFarlane panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where McFarlane offered some key updates about the movie’s progress. McFarlane explained that his earlier Twitter post was a sign that “there’s a completed first draft of the screenplay,” rather than a mark that the movie will be named King Spawn. He explained that the movie would be R-rated and that the screenwriters “have delivered a badass script” and “have been true to my spirit…” He expects to get a director “very quickly” and hopes to establish the franchise with the upcoming movie.

Everything McFarlane Confirmed About Spawn At Comic-Con

The King Spawn Movie Is Closer Than Ever

McFarlane’s San Diego Comic Con panel offered a deluge of news about the upcoming Spawn movie. He described that, since the script is already fully developed, the next step is finding a suitable director. He believes the process will be completed “very quickly“, likely within the next two months. After securing a director, he plans to approach Hollywood and demand that any available producers “cut a check, get out of the way“. Production should come quickly if McFarlane’s estimates are right.

Hollywood’s interest in the franchise could be substantial. When clarifying that the movie would have an R-rating, McFarlane also began explaining his hopes for the movie’s potential. Expecting that the highly-anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine and Joker 2 will dominate at the box office, McFarlane believes Hollywood will be looking to greenlight more R-rated superhero movies. After Joker earned $1 billion at the box office, the potential for R-rated superhero movies is higher than ever, and he intends to capitalize on their success.

McFarlane has been regularly emphasizing his plans to develop more Spawn movies after the first movie’s release, and his Comic-Con appearance was no exception. He described that his goal for the first movie is to lay the foundations for a strong franchise with a well-developed setting and characters. Once the first movie is finished, he plans to add more characters and conflicts to build the franchise slowly. His plans emulate the strengths of the early Marvel Cinematic Universe. When the Spawn reboot is released, McFarlane has no plans to stop producing movies from the antihero’s world.

Spawn (Reboot)

Spawn is an action-adventure horror reboot of the comic book property created by Todd McFarlane. Spawn was initially adapted for film in 1997, starring Michael Jai White in the lead role. Spawn first appeared in Image Comics in 1992 and has received much acclaim in the years since. Spawn appears on several “greatest comic book characters” lists. In 2015, McFarlane announced his intentions to make a reboot, which would be R-rated and star Jamie Foxx as the titular anti-hero.

Studio(s)

Blumhouse Productions , McFarlane Films

Distributor(s)

Blumhouse Productions

Franchise(s)

Spawn