Todd McFarlane Confirms ‘Spawn’ Is Still Alive, but He Still Won’t Sign Off on the Script

Few comic book properties have spent as long stuck in development limbo as ‘Spawn,’ the demonic antihero created by Todd McFarlane back in 1992. Despite years of announcements, false starts, and attached talent, Blumhouse’s long-gestating reboot has repeatedly failed to move into actual production, leading many fans to wonder whether the project had quietly been shelved for good.

Those doubts have only grown louder given how long the film has been in development, with various writers, directors, and stars cycling through the project over the years while McFarlane has remained deeply hands-on with every stage of the process. That level of personal involvement has clearly shaped just how particular he’s been about getting the story right.

McFarlane has now confirmed the reboot is still moving forward, addressing head-on why he still hasn’t approved the current version of the script. “We’re just still trying to get the script right,” McFarlane said. “I know it’s frustrating to everybody, especially me, I haven’t signed off because I just am not reading what I have in my head,” he told Dread Central.

McFarlane elaborated on the specific challenge he’s facing with the writing process, explaining that the difficulty lies in finding a middle ground between two extremes. “What’s happening is people are either going too far off the reservation, or they’re being too loyal to it,” he said, expressing frustration with drafts that either stray too far from the source material or treat it too literally.

He’s also been explicit about wanting to avoid simply retelling material fans have already seen. McFarlane has pushed back against the idea of adapting the character’s earliest comic issues, pointing out that a version of that origin story was already told in the 1997 ‘Spawn’ film starring Michael Jai White, and that revisiting the same ground again would feel redundant rather than fresh.

McFarlane has been consistent about the tone he envisions for the eventual film, drawing comparisons to recent horror successes rather than traditional comic book blockbusters. “It should just be really dark and gritty and unsettling,” he said. “When I see examples like Obsession or Backrooms, you go, ‘The audience will consume this.’ We don’t need to do superhero. As a matter of fact… we should be trying to do something different because, again, we’re not going to have a $200 million budget like other superhero movies.”

That budget-conscious, genre-driven approach has defined McFarlane’s thinking about the project for years, favoring a leaner, more unsettling horror-thriller sensibility over the kind of large-scale action typically associated with comic book adaptations.

Jamie Foxx has long been attached to play Al Simmons, also known as Spawn, with McFarlane still discussing Foxx’s involvement as recently as a July interview. Jeremy Renner was previously announced for the role of Detective Twitch Williams, though his current involvement in this latest version of the script hasn’t been confirmed.

McFarlane had also once considered directing the film himself, but appears to have shifted that thinking given the level of talent now circling the project. Reflecting on that shift, he’s noted that with A-list actors, producers, and writers potentially attached, it makes sense to pursue A-list directors and cinematographers as well, prioritizing keeping the project’s overall momentum moving forward.

While the ongoing delays remain frustrating for fans eager to see Spawn return to the big screen, McFarlane’s insistence on getting the script exactly right suggests a genuine commitment to quality over simply rushing something out the door. Given how personally invested he’s remained throughout the process, that patience may ultimately serve the final product well, even if it continues testing fans’ patience in the meantime.

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