Thanks to the one-two punch of Deadpool and Logan, 20th Century Fox has single-handedly altered the narrative of R-rated comic book movies – and in the space of 13 months, no less.
No longer are adult-oriented films pushed to the side in favor of more palatable, PG-13 products, as the studio has doubled down on its mature lineup through the likes of Deadpool 2, X-Force, X-23 and even The New Mutants. But there’s another R-rated feature simmering in the early stages of production, and it appears to be cut from a different cloth entirely.
Its name? Spawn, the long-brewing thriller that’s since found a home at Blumhouse Productions – arguably the perfect fit – and during a recent chat with AZ Central, seasoned comic book scribe Todd McFarlane revealed that his “dark and heavy” feature is much, much different to the likes of Deadpool and Logan.
We just signed off on the script, and are going into budgeting. We’re also having our casting meeting. It will be dark and heavy, serious, R-rated. It won’t be a superhero movie. I don’t think most people would categorize it as that. It will be a supernatural thriller, like a lot of good creep movies. The only thing in the movie that’s fantastic is Spawn, and anything else is otherwise normal. We don’t want to muddy the waters.
Not for the first time, McFarlane then went on to compare his upcoming passion project to Jaws in that the titular anti-hero will be used sparingly in order to ramp up the tension.
It’s R-rated. Not like Deadpool, where there was just a couple F-bombs and a naked butt. Not like Logan either. We’re talking trauma, true trauma, as serious as possible. I like to explain that it’s my Jaws. Spawn doesn’t say a word the entire movie, and it’s the same way with Jaws. It’s about the sheriff and the people, chasing the ghost. That’s it. The lead role isn’t Spawn, the lead role is a cop, like Sheriff Brody from Jaws.
After years spent languishing on the brink of development, Spawn will presumably be ushered into theaters within the next two-to-three years, at which point Al Simmons’ demonic alter-ego won’t speak a single word.
