Spawn Reboot Won’t Waste Time With An Origin Story, Todd McFarlane Clarifies

Todd McFarlane’s brewing Spawn reboot has been described as many things.

A “low-budget” horror movie? Check. A “dark” and “nasty” second coming for Albert Francis “Al” Simmons? You betcha. But an origin story? Not quite.

Amid talk of a spinoff TV series and the possibility of Oscar-winning talent climbing on board the long-gestating film reboot, Todd McFarlane recently sat down with Cinema Blend to discuss his new take on the famed anti-hero, and why it won’t waste time retreading the same material on display in New Line’s superhero flick of ’97.

I always come back to Jaws — not that I have a shark in Spawn! But that shark was enormous. And at anytime in the movie, did they tell me why the shark was so damn big? No! Did it matter to me? No! All that mattered was that it was big and in the same vicinity as humans. Or John Carpenter’s The Thing: where do the aliens come from? I don’t know! What was its reason for taking over bodies? I don’t know! It just was. I’m OK without an origin. Just give me a compelling story, scare the shit out of me from time to time, and I’m along for the ride.

This isn’t the first time that McFarlane has name-dropped Jaws, nor is it likely to be the last, but it’s clear the filmmaker wants to adopt a less-is-more approach when handling Albert Simmons’ demonic alter-ego. Besides, if a movie monster spends too much time on screen it begins to become part of the furniture, no matter how scary or terrifying it is at first. And there is perhaps no better example of that restraint than Steven Spielberg’s approach to Jaws and its titular great white.

And so, two years after flirting with the idea, Todd McFarlane is officially set to spearhead a new take on Spawn for Blumhouse Productions. That’s the same banner that has launched such critical darlings as Split, Get Out, and the Insidious franchise, so it’s no wonder McFarlane’s reimagining is beginning to attract some serious attention.