For years, we’ve been under the impression that the only thing holding up Todd McFarlane’s Spawn reboot was that studios are nervous about him as a first-time director. To me, though, this always seemed unfair. McFarlane made the effort to surround himself with a very experienced cast and crew and purposefully wrote a script that could be shot on a relatively low budget. Sure, it’s a little worrying that his treatment approached Spawn himself as more of a supernatural presence seen through the eyes of others, but I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
Or maybe not. Horror YouTuber Mr. H somehow has a copy of the script from 2017 (described as the second draft of a final version) and he’s posted actual pages to back up his claim. His opinion of it, meanwhile, can be succinctly summarized as “total garbage. Absolute crap.”
His biggest criticism centers on Spawn’s appearance (or lack of one). We’d previously heard that McFarlane intended to treat the hellbound antihero like the shark in Jaws, keeping him in the shadows to both build suspense and have a low budget. But judging by this script, he’s only on screen for a maximum of 15 minutes. And even then, this won’t be the same character that fans are familiar with, as he mostly physically manifests as wind, bugs and rats.
Most ludicrous is his first appearance. According to the script, we meet the iconic hero for the first time as a bed. Yes, you’re reading that right, Spawn is a bed. Without actually seeing this on screen, I don’t want to prejudge the movie, but you have to admit that it doesn’t sound great.
With a heavy heart, I think it might finally be time for McFarlane to give up on the project. After all, if it hasn’t been made by now, there’s probably a damn good reason. Spawn fans can at least hold out hope that the new HBO animated show becomes a reality, as there they don’t have to worry too much about budgetary constraints in depicting the lead character.
