“Hard R” Spawn Movie Script Complete, Todd McFarlane Cites A Mix Of “The Departed Meets Paranormal Activity”

‘Tis the season for R-rated comic book movies to gather pace and, sure enough, off the back of Deadpool‘s record-shattering success, writer-artist Todd McFarlane has revealed that a “hard R” script for Spawn has now been turned in.

In what is the first tangible development in close to three years, ComicBook.com caught up with McFarlane during Toy Fair 2016 to discuss the supernatural tenets of his hellish anti-hero, and why he compared it to “The Departed meets Paranormal Activity.”

Now that the scribe has wrapped up a first draft, he’s been able to reflect on the current status of Spawn, and how it could slot in to the “horror/suspense/supernatural” genre in its meandering journey to the big screen.

I’d put it more into the horror/suspense/supernatural genre. If you take the movie The Departed meets Paranormal Activity, something like that…In the background, there’s this thing moving around, this boogeyman. That boogeyman just happens to be something that you and I, intellectually, know is Spawn. Will he look like he did in the first movie? No. Will he have a supervillain he fights? No. He’s going to be the specter, the ghost.

In closing, McFarlane also hinted that he plans to “keep it small, keep it tight” when it comes to budget and special effects, which really could help a Spawn movie as much as it hinders it. While it’s not straight anti-hero to anti-hero, Tim Miller and Fox turned over a staggering profit with Deadpool by remaining true to the origins of the character, aided by the wisecracking and almost effortless charm of Ryan Reynolds.

For Spawn, a perfect storm of the right director, actor, budget and leading star to take on the role the titular, vengeful demon are now in order. Even still, Deadpool‘s triumphant success means that it shouldn’t take a deal with Malebolgia to bring McFarlane’s hellish vision to life.