The superhero genre is currently in overdrive with the recent releases of films like Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2. That said, audiences will get something noticably different from Blumhouse when Todd McFarlane's Spawn makes its theatrical debut. Much has already been said about the fact that the Jamie Foxx-fronted Spawn movie won't be anything like traditional comic book movies, and McFarlane recently opened up and admitted that we would not even see this new incarnation of Spawn until the movie debuts. In an interview, McFarlane said:
The physical look of him? I'll probably hide that [until the film's release]. We'll show some hints of it and we'll have to reveal some moments in the trailer and things like that but there won't be any quote-unquote 'hero shots' or posters or anything like that showing the full character that we're used to seeing in superhero movie marketing. It's going to follow more of the pattern of classic horror films, with dark imagery and someone standing in the doorway in the shadows. I want to keep with the mood and the feel of the movie we want to make. I doubt I'm going to say, "Here's Spawn in all his glory" in a preview shot. I don't actually intend to show him from head to toe in the movie. You're never going to get a hero shot in the movie.
In stark contrast to most other comic book heroes, Spawn is more of a deadly boogeyman who lurks in the dark than a wholly good symbol of hope. True to that nature, it looks like we won't get any good looks at the titular badass in the film's marketing campaign, and the film itself won't include any of those traditional "hero shots" that we have become used to seeing in projects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the DC Extended Universe.
Todd McFarlane has talked about this idea before. In fact, earlier this year he drew comparisons to Jaws by emphasizing the shark-like, predatory nature of Spawn in the new movie. However, these new remarks take it one step further by fleshing out just how little of Spawn we will actually see in the film. In fact, elsewhere in Todd McFarlane's comments to Syfy Wire, he made sure to note that Jamie Foxx won't be his usual charming self as Spawn, so don't expect much wise-cracking in this take on the demonic entity.
Of course, Todd McFarlane's emphasis on the horror genre stylings of Spawn makes sense when we consider the creative forces behind the film. Spawn is being developed over at Blumhouse, which has made a name for itself with successful scary romps like Split, Happy Death Day and the Insidious franchise. Blumhouse is a company that knows how to create and sell a creepy film, so leaning into this specific genre arguably seems perfectly in-line with Blumhouse's MO.
Make sure to stay tuned for more updates about Todd McFarlane's upcoming hard-R Spawn reboot as new information related to the film is made available to us. Until we learn more about the film, you can head over to our movie premiere guide to get more details on the movies set to debut in 2018!
