Todd McFarlane’s big contribution to Image Comics in the ’90s was the creation of Spawn. The character has remained popular for so many years but the last time it was adapted into a major film was 1997. McFarlane has also spent the better part of the last twenty years trying to get another movie made.
However, a new Spawn film is finally in the works from Blumhouse Productions, but it’s been a long road. Participating in a panel Sunday at New York Comic Con, Todd aired his frustrations with Hollywood’s inability to understand his artistic vision, revealing how he and the studios have different ideas about what Spawn should be.
RELATED: Todd McFarlane Wanted One Thing In The Venom Film – But Did He Get It?
McFarlane stated the problem is he wants Spawn to fit more into the horror genre while Hollywood sees it simply as a superhero movie. “Here’s what’s frustrating about this process,” he said, “Hollywood doesn’t get what I’m trying to do.”
He added, “I can tell by the notes they gave they just don’t understand it.”
The problem for him is getting studios to have faith in a comic book film that is R-rated horror and not a traditional superhero project that is PG-13, like the previous Spawn film was.
McFarlane shared his thoughts on the upcoming Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix to illustrate the difference between what he considers dark and what Hollywood means by “dark.” “I don’t believe they’re going to deliver a scary Joker movie,” he said. “Warner Bros dark and my dark are two different things.”
RELATED: Todd McFarlane Draws Michael Myers For New Halloween Poster
He then added what he hopes to achieve with a new Spawn movie geared towards an adult audience, bring director Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker into the equation. “My dark means if you bring children to a Joker movie they will leave crying,” McFarlane said.
The upcoming Spawn reboot marks creator Todd McFarlane’s directorial debut and stars Jamie Foxx as the title character with Jeremy Renner appearing as Twitch Williams. The film does not currently have an announced release date but is expected to begin principal photography soon.