The 1990's were a time when looking cool was paramount for new comic book characters. And that decade spawned a ton of characters who simply put, looked awesome. The likes of Deadpool, Carnage and Cable all made their debuts at this time. But perhaps no character looked as unbelievably badass as Spawn. The character's popularity saw him get a big screen adaptation that preceded even Blade. Now, over two decades removed from that ill-received cinematic effort, Spawn is finally heading back to the big screen. But this time his badass look might be different from what we are expecting. Todd McFarlane explained what we can expect from the new Spawn costume, saying:
Does Spawn have a dark mask and his body dark and then does he have a cape in the comic books? Yes, yes, yes. Will he have all of that in the movie? Yes, yes, yes. So it's not like I'm going to give him wings instead of a cape and I'm not going to give him no mask instead of a mask. There's no going to be any of that. It just won't be exactly what a hardcore fan is used to.
Spawn has to have his cape so everyone can breathe a sigh of relief that he still will in this new film. Speaking with ComicBook.com here, Todd McFarlane seems to be implying that although the new Spawn portrayed by Jamie Foxx will retain some of the character's signature visual elements, he will not look exactly like him. This new Spawn won't be directly ripped from the pages of the comic and put onscreen. However he also won't be completely unrecognizable. I wouldn't expect to see a bright and fluffy Hellspawn.
How the changes will manifest is anyone's guess, but it sounds like the actual design will be different. Perhaps the lines of the mask or the cape or some of the colors will be changed, but will still retain the spirit of the character. Todd McFarlane has been teasing a horror-inspired movie where Spawn will mostly function from the shadows, so we might not get a clear look at the character's costume until late into its runtime.
Costumes rank up there with casting as things that comic book movie fans sometimes jump to conclusions about, sometimes causing the community freak out prematurely. It's ultimately coin toss as to whether criticism was premature, or the fandom's fears become fully realized. This all gets back to a desire for faithfulness to the source material, which helped to create the audience in the first place. Too much deviation from that can seem like a bastardization. The situation with Spawn is especially unique because the man writing, directing and bringing this character back to life on the big screen is the very man who created him in the first place, Todd McFarlane. So you've got to think that whatever he does with Spawn's costume, it will remain true to the spirit of the character and probably look ridiculously badass.
In addition to Jamie Foxx as the demonic anti-hero, Spawn will also star Jeremy Renner as Max "Twitch" Williams, and The Walking Dead's special effects and makeup artist Greg Nicotero and his KNB group have signed on to work on Todd McFarlane's reboot. The R-rated Spawn is expected to be shooting for a 2019 release but we don't have an exact date yet. CinemaBlend will keep you updated on the latest from the new Spawn and you can check out movies hitting theaters still this year in our premiere guide.
