If you remember director Mark A.Z. Dippé’s 1997 looser-than-a-goose adaptation of Todd McFarlane’s highly popular Spawn comic series, chances are it’s because of how utterly disappointing it was. Though Michael Jai White’s performance was notable enough, when you’re playing opposite Fat John Leguizamo Clown, it isn’t hard to look amazing in comparison. McFarlane has been talking about bringing Spawn’s hellacious universe back to cinema for years now, and now has rather excitedly reconfirmed this news.
Speaking with MTV recently near a McFarlane Toys display at the TIA Toy Fair, McFarlane not only talked about the possibility of a multi-film Spawn franchise, but also of another animated series that isn’t only a possibility, but is actually already halfway finished.
Just as he did when talking to Nerdist a couple years back, McFarlane once again mentioned the unnamed Academy Award-winning actor who is interested in taking on the superhero role, saying, “Every three weeks he’s on the phone going, ‘Todd, where’s the script? Todd, where’s the script?’” The two have already gotten together for a pitch meeting, and McFarlane says, “The pitch I gave was that we could do ten of these for the next ten years and he wouldn’t have to be 22 for the rest of his life.” So this probably means the character will be crafted mostly by CGI, but that might not be such a bad thing, should the script (which McFarlane is writing at a rate of “a page here and there”) capture the insane artwork of the comics.
As far as the animated series is concerned, the plan is to release a film with the show to follow and capitalize on success. Voiceovers and background work completed already, with the series just needing to go to the animation studios, . And McFarlane points out that animation is leaps and bounds ahead of what it was when HBO aired an animated take on the character back in 1997. Watch the full interview below.
So while 2013 probably won’t see any of Hell’s Army crossing theater screens, 2014 is looking promising. Or maybe 2015...look for 2016’s Spawn film coverage here on Cinema Blend!
