With a new screenwriter on board, the long-awaited Spawn revival is back on pace. Brian Tucker, who wrote the 2013 crime drama Broken City with Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg, has reportedly agreed to write the live-action Spawn film’s script. Todd McFarlane, the creator of the comic book character, will also serve as director. Blumhouse will produce alongside McFarlane, with Carla Hacken serving as executive producer.
This new version of Spawn has been in development since 2017, but production has yet to begin for a variety of reasons. It was initially believed that Jamie Foxx would play the titular vigilante, with Jeremy Renner playing a detective in a supporting role. The performers had committed to join the project based on McFarlane’s initial draught, but they may be asked again once the new screenplay is completed.
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The character was created by Todd McFarlane in 1992 and first appeared in Image Comics’ Spawn No. 1. In the comics, he is presented as Al Simmons, a black operations agent who is betrayed, killed, and damned for taking the lives of innocent people. He makes a pact with a demon to return to Earth five years after his death in exchange for one final chance to see his wife, even if it means becoming a Hellspawn. As a vigilante, Al finds a new purpose in life by putting an end to evil.
Spawn was originally conceived as a live-action film that debuted in theatres in 1997. The film stars Michael Jai White as Al Simmons and was directed by Mark A. Z. Dippe and written by Alan B. McElroy.
Spawn has yet to be given a release date or a production start date. In the meantime, McFarlane is hard at work on the Spawn comic book adaptation. He’ll be releasing the first issue of King Spawn, the character’s next comic book series, in the near future. With approximately 500,000 copies sold, the comic book series has become the longest-running indie comic.
