After the recent success of R-rated efforts like Logan and Deadpool, it seems that everyone’s looking to present more mature and gritty cinematic outings for the various comic book properties that they hold the rights to. That’s certainly the case with Todd McFarlane and his upcoming Spawn reboot, but unlike those aforementioned films, Albert Francis “Al” Simmons’ next big screen appearance is hoping to do things a little different.
Speaking at Ace Comic Con this weekend, McFarlane explained that while Spawn will indeed be R-rated, it won’t be at all like Logan and Deadpool.
“It’s funny in Hollywood, if you say you want to do an R-rated movie, they go like ‘Oh like Deadpool or Logan?’ For me, no,” he said. “To me, Deadpool was the PG-13 action movie, it just had some naked butts and a couple of f-bombs. Other than that, I thought it was the same PG-13 formula.”
“When I’m talking R, I’m talking that there wouldn’t be a lot of fun, there won’t be any stupid lines in it. I never like my hero to make a joke right when the jeopardy was at its highest. If I felt that my hero wasn’t afraid right now, why should I be? I want my heroes to go ‘S**t, where do I go now?’”
Continuing on, McFarlane stressed, once again, that Spawn will NOT be a superhero movie. At least, not in the traditional sense.
“Here’s what I do know. It should be impossible for anybody to go to the movie and say ‘I’m disappointed, I thought it was a superhero movie. Because there’s this thing called the internet and TV and you’ll see the trailer and there will be nothing in the trailer that will say that this is a superhero movie.”’
Finally, he assured fans that the reboot will pull no punches, as he’s hoping to bring us a dark and nasty take on the character.
“It’s just going to be a dark, nasty R-rated, scary, creepy, messed up movie. Now why?” McFarlane said. “If you were a ten-year-old and you bought Spawn #1, it’s 25 years later and you’re 35. You’re an adult and I just think my audience has grown up with me.”
Having found a home at Blumhouse Productions and seemingly held talks with Oscar-winning talent, now all that’s left is for Spawn to enter production in earnest. Granted, it’s still early days for McFarlane’s adaptation, but everything we’ve learned so far stinks of potential and we can’t wait to see what the writer is cooking up.
