While making a decent amount of money at the box office, the 1997 Spawn movie was a critical bomb. But in the years since its release, the character's creator, Todd McFarlane, hasn't stopped trying to give the demonic anti-hero another shot at big screen redemption. It hasn't been an easy endeavor, but with San Diego Comic-Con in full swing right now, McFarlane has confirmed that his work has finally paid off, as the Spawn reboot is officially moving forward as a Blumhouse production.
Todd McFarlane has teamed up with Blumhouse to bring Spawn back to the big screen, and this movie will mark McFarlane's directorial debut. Watch the video below to see McFarlane announce the big news on Facebook with director Kevin Smith.
With this revelation, the hypothetical has now become reality for Todd McFarlane and the Spawn fans. McFarlane had been working on the new Spawn movie's script for years, finally completing it last year. Aside from needing to polish the story, it sounded like the reboot was ready to go, but the main obstacle that prevented the cinematic Spawn tale from being picked up was McFarlane wanting to direct and produce it. That's been a non-negotiable condition for McFarlane, and while that may have prevented studios from picking Spawn up before, now the comic book writer and artist has found a kindred spirit in Blumhouse Productions, which is responsible for horror content like the Paranormal Activity series, The Purge series, the Insidious series, Split, The Belko Experiment and Get Out.
Unlike 1997's Spawn, which leaned heavily on action, the Spawn reboot will not be a superhero movie, instead resting comfortably in the horror and thriller genres, hence why Blumhouse is a good home for it. Let's not forget that Spawn came out a couple years before the comic book movie genre really started to take off. Most of those blockbusters are traditional superhero tales, but movies like Deadpool and Logan have shown that R-rated comic book content can be both critically and commercially successful, while at the same time being more tonally unique to stand out from the crowd. And unlike most other superhero movies, Spawn won't be made with a large budget, as McFarlane only wants to spend around $10 million on it.
More details about the Spawn reboot are supposedly arriving soon, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for those updates. The Spawn mythos may also be getting some attention on the small screen in the near future, as Kevin Smith is developing a Sam and Twitch TV series for BBC America.
