The upcoming reboot of Spawn is being touted as doing something beyond just a rehash of the character’s origin story, according to its creator, Todd McFarlane, in a recent interview.
McFarlane, who is set to direct the long-delayed reboot, said in an interview with CBR.com explained why he decided to hold out for as long as he did for the right script writer: to bring something different than just a redo of the 1997 film of the same name.
“We saw that movie. That movie came out 20-plus years ago from New Line. So what haven’t we seen that would be interesting and relevant today, both in terms of filmmaking and social content.”
The Michael Jai White-helmed ’97 Spawn, directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé, focuses on the origin of the character, an ill-fated U.S. Marine, Al Simmons, who is resurrected as the reluctant leader of Hell’s army after being murdered.
If the latest Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie franchise is any indication, side-stepping the over-used tropes of superhero origin storytelling might prove to be a profitable move for the franchise.
In the interview, McFarlane explained that he thinks Broken City screenwriter Brian Tucker, who is currently attached to scribe the reboot, will handle the material well. In addition, McFarlane said another “big name” is attached to the project that helped whittle down the eligible screenwriters.
“I think he said he went through close to a hundred scripts by as many people as he could. We were looking ideally for someone that could bring a voice to the character on two levels: I’m just a white, Canadian kid. I haven’t lived the life of a man in America of someone with dark skin. We thought it was important to get the perspective of somebody who has.”
It’s unclear who the behind-the-scenes person helping to select the script McFarlane was referring to. It’s also unknown what the status is of who will be playing Spawn and detective Twitch, though Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner had been attached for those respective roles back in 2018.
What is clear is that the Spawn reboot will reportedly be produced by horror movie magnate Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions.