Who can forget the heavily criticized Spawn from two decades ago? Michael Jai White starred as Spawn, and an unrecognizable John Leguizamo played Violator. After many years, one of the darkest characters of the 90s returns, recharged, with Blumhouse producing, its creator in the director's chair, and Jamie Foxx in the lead role.
The Darkest Antihero of the 90s
In the early 90s, one of the darkest antiheroes in comic book history was born. We're talking about Al Simmons, better known as Spawn. This character, created by Todd McFarlane, received a spectacular welcome in comics, so it wasn't long before offers came to adapt him for TV and the big screen. In 1997, both happened: Spawn hit theaters and also the small screen in the form of an animated series. The movie was torn apart by critics, while the animated series had a different reception, with three seasons and a movie per season, always under the wing of the Canadian artist.
Now, for the first time, the creator of Spawn will sit in the director's chair and seek to give the film a more terrifying tone, stepping away from the superhero genre. On the film's approach, McFarlane said the following:
In the scariest movies, from 'Jaws' to John Carpenter's 'The Thing', or 'The Grudge' and 'The Ring', the boogeyman doesn't speak... This confuses people because of the comic industry and because everyone is in the mindset of Captain America, and I keep repeating: 'No, think of John Carpenter or Hitchcock'. [Spawn] is not a man in a rubber suit, he's not a hero who will come to save the damsel in distress. He is none of that. At the end of the movie, I hope the audience says: 'Is it a ghost that becomes a man, or a man who becomes a ghost?' I have a trilogy in mind, and I'm not inclined to do an origin story in this first movie. I'm mentally exhausted from origin stories. Hopefully, there will be a movie that comes out and helps my cause. In 'A Quiet Place', the first thing on screen is a black-and-white title that says 'Day 89'. It doesn't matter what happened in the first 88 days. That movie doesn't worry about explaining and giving all the answers. What it says is that if you can get hooked on a family's survival story, the movie will make complete sense to you.
And who better to produce a horror movie than Blumhouse, which knows the genre very well, having produced franchises like Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Insidious, The Purge, and many more. In fact, Blumhouse was the one to announce Foxx's arrival to the film:
We are excited that Jamie Foxx will play the lead in our adaptation of 'Spawn'. He is an incredible actor and a huge fan of the Spawn Universe created by Todd McFarlane. With all his talent, Jamie can commit to the role, and with Todd directing and bringing the world of Spawn to life, we couldn't be more excited about this movie.
The film will have a budget of between 10 and 12 million dollars and will be the beginning of a trilogy in which we will see Al Simmons's transformation into a hellish angel. Although there is no release date yet, it was confirmed that the movie will premiere in 2019.
The Man Behind Spawn
Last but not least, it's interesting to learn about the story of its creator. Before creating Spawn, the Canadian artist Todd McFarlane started working in 1987 on The Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel Comics), and his work was fundamental both in improving our friendly neighborhood spider and in creating his nemesis, Venom. He also worked on various characters for Marvel and DC. In 1992, Todd and seven great Marvel artists left the company to create Image Comics, an independent publisher that sought to leave its own mark on the industry—and it succeeded. In addition to Spawn, Image Comics was responsible for comics such as The Walking Dead, Wildcats, The Darkness, Savage Dragon, Lazarus, and many more.
McFarlane also had his own toy line, "McFarlane Toys", which includes Spawn figures and collectible lines of all kinds, like Elvis, Stranger Things, and video game figures such as Destiny, Call of Duty, and Assassin's Creed. He even had his own production company, "Todd McFarlane Entertainment", through which the 1997 Spawn movie, the animated series, and music videos for bands like Pearl Jam passed.
All that has been revealed excites the public, and it's no wonder. Spawn will arrive in 2019 and promises a lot, as it's in very good hands.
Source: Deadline / Todd McFarlane (Official Website)
