“Spawn”: Todd McFarlane Says Film Reboot Happening

Perhaps one of the more underrated antiheroes to ever grace comics, fan favorite Spawn is making a comeback via a new film.

Series creator Todd McFarlane recently did a Reddit AMA, and somewhere in the midst of the jumble of questions, he admitted there is renewed interest in the Spawn franchise.  He states:

Right now, Marvel comics is owned by Disney. And DC Comic Books is owned by Warner Brothers.  What that means is neither one of those companies is going to let any of their characters outside of their company. So here’s what’s happening: Universal, Paramount, Sony, and FOX and a lot of other smaller studios are looking for content.  And they can’t have a Marvel or DC character – which means they are now knocking on our door.

So what this means is there is currently some attention from an unnamed studio focused on the title.  This of course is subject to change at any moment as things in Hollywood do, but it’s very rare that McFarlane says something this specific without some good potential behind it.

If you recall, last year McFarlane posted on his facebook page this set of artwork, teasing a new Spawn animated series, which ultimately didn’t go anywhere (as of yet).  He may mean this project is now moving forward, but we’re hoping for a live action feature.

He goes on to say on Reddit:

So if any of you have ever thought about putting an idea down on paper – today is the perfect day. Because there is a great hunger for stuff that isn’t Marvel and DC right now.

We have 17 books that are currently optioned in Hollywood. It can be done.

What I tell people is: If you do a book, and if it’s the 150th best-selling book – BUT the 149 books ahead of you are Marvel & DC – You have the number one book for all the other studios. So you don’t have to be a big-selling book to have people interested in you right now. The studios have to scratch out Marvel & DC and then go “What’s left?” and in the top 100 books – that might be #1 to the people at the studios. So I’m telling ya – it is a GOOD time to be an independent creator right now.

Thank you guys for taking the time to check out Spawn, our 250 issue digital re-release, and for your ongoing support.

We’ll be back when I have some specific details about the movie, and we can talk about the movie when we go into production!

Needless to say, we’re pretty damn excited about this notation! We’ll let you guys know as more information becomes available.