Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn was beloved throughout the '90s despite its 1997 film adaptation getting mostly negative reviews. Fortunately, the character will finally get his due with a new film on the way, and its titular character now has a superstar attached for the role.
According to Deadline, Jamie Foxx has signed on to play Spawn (and, of course, his alter-ego Al Newman, who has been renamed from Al Simmons) in the new film being produced by Blumhouse. The project will also mark the directorial debut of McFarlane, who is working from a script he also wrote.
"Jamie came to my office five years ago, and he had an idea about Spawn and we talked about it," McFarlane said in a statement. "I never forgot him, and when I was writing this script, you sort of plug people in, and he was my visual guy and I never let go of him. When I got done and my agents and everybody was talking about what actor, I said, I'm going to Jamie first and until he says no I don't want to think about anyone else because I've never had anyone else in my head. Luckily, he hadn't forgotten either. I said, 'Hey, I'm back to talk about Spawn again, and he was like, let's do it.'"
Jamie Foxx added, "A few years back I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe… Todd McFarlane. He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character Spawn…. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity… well… the opportunity is here!! I'm humbled and ready to transform… and to top things off the young Jason Blum is lending his brilliance to the project! Time to be great!!!! #Spawn."
Stay tuned for more details on the new film as they become available.
According to Deadline, Jamie Foxx has signed on to play Spawn (and, of course, his alter-ego Al Newman, who has been renamed from Al Simmons) in the new film being produced by Blumhouse. The project will also mark the directorial debut of McFarlane, who is working from a script he also wrote.
"Jamie came to my office five years ago, and he had an idea about Spawn and we talked about it," McFarlane said in a statement. "I never forgot him, and when I was writing this script, you sort of plug people in, and he was my visual guy and I never let go of him. When I got done and my agents and everybody was talking about what actor, I said, I'm going to Jamie first and until he says no I don't want to think about anyone else because I've never had anyone else in my head. Luckily, he hadn't forgotten either. I said, 'Hey, I'm back to talk about Spawn again, and he was like, let's do it.'"
Jamie Foxx added, "A few years back I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe… Todd McFarlane. He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character Spawn…. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity… well… the opportunity is here!! I'm humbled and ready to transform… and to top things off the young Jason Blum is lending his brilliance to the project! Time to be great!!!! #Spawn."
Stay tuned for more details on the new film as they become available.