EXCLUSIVE: Todd McFarlane Reveals Spawn Reboot Details, New Character Costume
Published by
Larry Carroll on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 1:21 pm.
Comic book fans know Spawn as a badass anti-hero who mixed religion and superheroism into a powerful, immensely popular mix that re-wrote the graphic novel template in the early 90s. Movie fans, unfortunately, remember the character as the star of a 1997 suckfest that has been largely forgotten. Now, creator
Todd McFarlane is finalizing plans to bring the character some respect on the big-screen with a new movie.
With Spawn, I have five legitimate offers sitting on the table, the writer/artist/entrepreneur revealed to MTV News recently. Ever since
Iron Man, theyve been phoning every day.
At this point, McFarlane explained, hes trying to decide between two options: If I go with the lower-budget movie, theyll let me direct it. And if I go bigger, than I sit in the producers chair; if the budgets too big, theyre not going to give me the chance at [directing] it. So Im trying to decide whether I want to go big production, bigger money, bigger marketing or just do something thats a little bit smaller, more rock n roll, and the way Ive had it in my brain for the last five years.
If McFarlane does direct the film, it will be his cinematic debut behind the camera.
So, what exactly
is floating around inside McFarlanes brain? A dark, realistic crime flick styled after several classic films and most certainly not starring John Leguizamo as an obese clown. The thing Ive had in my head for a long time isnt a big comic-book movie, he explained. Everythings real; its like The Departed, L.A. Confidential or something like that and theres only one thing out of the ordinary in the story Ive written, which is the thing people know as Spawn. And only a few people see it.
To me, its more along the lines of Jaws, where you didnt see [the shark] for half the movie, and then you caught glimpses of him, McFarlane said of Spawn, the only supernatural character in his vision. Jaws was somewhat fantastic in that movie, and to keep it low-budget I cant have spaceships and super-villains and all that stuff.
Youre not going to get an [origin story] with a rubber costume, McFarlane explained of Spawns new look. As a matter-of-fact, youll never see Spawn in his full regalia, because to me, hes more of a sentinel, like a living shadow. Ive shown the artwork [to potential investors] and hes all black; he doesnt look exactly like what people have seen in the comic book.
t:.
