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Spawn Animated Series Update From Todd McFarlane

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:58:17 +0000

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane has been talking A LOT lately about everything Spawn – a new Spawn movie (sort of), but more importantly, the Emmy-winning Spawn animated series that used to run on HBO from 1997-1999. Yes, Todd McFarlane has done a lot of Spawn talking lately – talking, not walking.

So is it really possible that the Spawn Animated Series is returning to television?

MTV Splash Page recently caught up with McFarlane and by all accounts the man swears that he will be delivering animated Spawn unto us again.

Now, part of what’s held up the Spawn property from TV and movie ventures (and nabbing T McF a nice paycheck) is – what else but – legal disputes. But word is the suits are getting worked out and the dust is beginning to settle, leaving McFarlane free to attempt a late-decade Spawn resurrection (get it?).

And apparently T McF hasn’t been asleep at the wheel – he’s even done work on an animated Spawn feature:

“We developed another 85-minute, movie-length storyline, but things got complicated near the end and there were some legal issues, so it got frozen because of that…Recently, we were able to come to a compromise where everybody is happy. As a result of that, at the end of this year—as long as both parties do what they’re supposed to—then all the rights come back to me…[the animate feature] stalled right at going overseas to find a studio, so it’s pretty far along,”

It’s noted in Splash Page’s article that McFarlane was talking with such confidence about the project that it’s really just a question of whether or not the new Spawn animated series kicks off with the animated feature or if they cut it up into a couple of episodes to launch the season. Big talk…

…But truth be told, I would love to see this happen. If you don’t know about Spawn, it was a comic book McFarlane (above) created, about a dead soldier and husband who makes a deal with a devil to return to earth for his wife – only he gets tricked and ends up wandering the night as a hell warrior with dark magic powers and a parasitic costume. It was a hot comic in the 90s, became a crap live-action movie in 1997 and an Emmy-winning animated series that same year. Why did the cartoon do so well? Because unlike the PG-13 movie it went hardcore HBO-brand Rated “R” and was as bloody, raunchy and depraved as the comic.

It was a pretty awesome series.

McFarlane (always the pitch man) also mentioned how the relaunched might tie into his latest Spawn movie idea, and when things might move forward for realz with the cartoon. Check out MTV Splash Page for the whole Shabang.

Will soon see if the walk gets walked…

Source: MTV Splash Page

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New Animated Spawn Series Coming Next Year!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:52:54 +0000

In recent months, Screen Rant reported on some updates for the new Spawn feature film in development. One report was on the topic of who would be in the film and that its creator, Todd McFarlane, wants Leonardo DiCaprio to star as the title character. More recently, we found out that McFarlane is currently writing the screenplay as a creepy, scary, adult-themed take on the character’s story, which would act as a standalone movie.

However, that’s not the only new format we’ll be seeing Spawn in – For those of you who watched the animated Spawn series on HBO back in the day, while it aired its three seasons from 1997 to 1999, you’ll be excited for this news…

Todd McFarlane, the mastermind behind Spawn, tweeted the following on Thursday:

“For those that’ve asked, the SPAWN ANIMATED show will be back in Hollywood’s face in 2010. Legal issues delayed it past few years”

So, a full decade after the animated adaptation ran its course, it is finally returning to television. There’s no word yet on whether or not this is a continuation of the older series or a reboot but I figure after 10 years they’ll just start fresh – they’ll need to if they want to gain a new audience.

The series that aired in the late nineties featured Keith David as the voice of Spawn. I wonder if they’ll bring him and the others back for the new series…

Are you excited for a new Spawn feature film and animated series?

Follow McFarlane on Twitter @Todd_McFarlane and follow us Screen Ranters by checking our accounts under the About Us page.

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Todd McFarlane Writing ‘Creepy, Scary’ New Spawn Movie

Kofi Outlaw — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:40:45 +0000

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane has been talking about the next Spawn movie ever since the 1997 film adaptation of the popular comic book hit theaters. In recent months McFarlane has said that he currently has offers on the table for another Spawn film and even that he wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to star in a dark, adult-themed version of Spawn, which McFarlane has been pitching at every opportunity.

Well, now comes word that this “dark, adult-themed” Spawn is the version McFarlane has in fact settled on and that he is currently at work on the screenplay for the film, which will be neither be a reboot or a sequel, but rather a standalone film that McFarlane has been dreaming up for nearly a decade now.

If you missed our previous updates on this forthcoming Spawn movie, here’s what McFarlane has in mind: (paraphrasing) “It’s not a ‘comic book movie,’ it’s just a scary movie, a creepy movie, where everything is real except for one element, which is the character we know as Spawn.” The film would of course be Rated-R.

The actual plot of this new film would slightly alter the classic Spawn mythos of two police detectives (Sam and Twitch) on the trail of a supernatural killer who is dispatching crooks and mobsters around the city. In the new script, Sam and Twitch will reportedly be condensed into one cop character (the role McFarlane wants DiCaprio to play) who is caught up in a The Departed-meets-The Godfather mob investigation, until a mysterious and unseen entity shows up and starts slaughtering crooks. Unlike the 1997 film, which was more of a big-budget super hero flick, McFarlane’s new script will likely treat Spawn as more of a peripheral character – a supernatural catalyst for the crime drama.

Has somebody been watching The Dark Knight for pointers?

I like the idea for this new Spawn movie, but there is one problem I foresee: Spawn the comic book has so much mythology surrounding it at this point, with pretty much only a dedicated league of fanboys having followed the series in its later years. The concept McFarlane is going with for this new film would presumably ignore much of that mythology, leading to the inevitable fanboy outcry of whether it is “truly” Spawn at all.

However, ignoring fanboy mania for a moment: Some of my favorite issues of the Spawn comic were standalone issues dealing with normal people’s encounters with the demon hero, so this film does hold a certain amount of appeal for me. And, if a big enough star plays the role of the cop main character, I could see the film holding appeal for a fairly wide audience, if the reaction to the recent trailer for Legion has been any indication.

What do you think: does this new Spawn movie sound good to you?

Spawn is still being scripted and no word yet on a release date.

Source: Coming Soon

Header Image : Greg Capullo

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Todd McFarlane Wants Leonardo DiCaprio for ‘Spawn’ Reboot

Rob Frappier — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:07:13 +0000

With films like The Dark Knight and Iron Man leading a new wave of successful and critically acclaimed comic book adaptations, it’s safe to say we’ve come a long way since 1997’s Spawn. That film, which for all its visual splendor never really told a coherent story, left a lot to be desired for fans of the franchise, leading many to wish for a reboot.

And if Todd McFarlane gets his way, what a reboot it will be!

In a recent interview with MTV, McFarlane shared some of his hopes for the film, comparing it to Jaws, The Departed, and, if you can believe it, The Godfather. As lofty as McFarlane’s ambitions sound, perhaps none of his hopes are as grandiose as his choice for the film’s lead: Three-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio.

Of course, Leonardo DiCaprio wouldn’t play Spawn. In fact, according to McFarlane, the movie might not even revolve around Spawn, but rather, “the guy chasing Spawn.” McFarlane went on to elaborate that the character would probably not be familiar to fans of the comic.

“We had Sam and Twitch in the book, but because of some of the stuff I’m trying to sell in Hollywood, we might have to change the characters a bit… it would still be a police character who’s chasing down a case and in the middle of this ‘Godfather’-type movie, something weird is out there and no one knows about it except him and a few other people.”

Why would Leo sign on for a Spawn reboot? McFarlane’s says it’s in his family history.

“It’s a big wish, but his dad was a big fan of underground comic books and he came from that.”

Would Leo sign on for a Spawn reboot? It would certainly be a big win for McFarlane if he could get DiCaprio on board, and the actor has found some success in action films, but I don’t know if I can see it happening. On the other hand, I thought Leo was a little baby-faced for his role in The Departed and that turned out to be one of my favorite movies of 2006.

What do you think? Can you see Leonardo DiCaprio in a Spawn reboot or are McFarlane’s sights set to high?

Source: MTV

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Todd McFarlane Talks Next Spawn Movie

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:56:57 +0000

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane was at the Hollywood Tempe, Arizona premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this week, and IESB was on hand for a video interview. During the discussion, McFarlane let one bombshell in particular drop: he currently has five offers on the table to do a new Spawn movie!

However, it gets deeper than that: McFarlane went on to say that the deals on the table range from big-budget studio projects, to modest-budget indie projects that would allow him more creative freedom. Right now he’s still debating what he wants the next Spawn movie to be (though making it NOTHING like the craptastic 1997 version is a good start).

McFarlane claims to be leaning more toward the indie side of things. The Spawn movie he envisions (and subsequently told IESB about) is (to paraphrase) “not a ‘comic book movie,’ it’s just a scary movie, a creepy movie, where everything is real except for one element, which is the character we know as Spawn.”

Ok so that sounds like a pretty good angle for Batman Begins a Spawn movie, right? As the IESB interviewer interjected at one point, a “realistic” Spawn film could be pretty well grounded in the characters of Sam and Twitch, the two police detectives in the comic books who are always left cleaning up Spawn’s unholy messes.

However, other statements McFarlane made during the interview concern me. He claims at one point that since he has two teenage daughters now, he envisions the next Spawn film as being something that would (again, to paraphrase) “get them and their dates into the theater.” Riiiiiiiiight. McFarlane also drops this wonderful tagline for the film: “Think of [The] Departed with something sort of moving in the shadows a little bit.”

For any youngsters who may not be familiar, the Spawn comic books were big in the 90’s, and the story is basically about a special ops mercenary who is betrayed by the government and murdered, only to strike a deal with The Devil to come back to Earth to be with his wife. Of course The Devil screws him over (he IS The Devil), and the mercenary returns to earth as a living corpse trapped in a parasitic symbiote uniform and powered with a limited amount of magic that, when spent, will usher his return to Hell to serve as lead general in The Devil’s war against Heaven.

Now WTF about that sounds like The Departed to you?

I only get more concerned when I hear McFarlane’s reasoning for an indie Spawn movie: if the budget is low enough, he’ll have more leverage to write and direct the film than he would at a major studio, where he would most likely be resigned to producing.

Oh man… Todd McFarlane directing the next Spawn movie? I know the guy created Spawn and all, but in my opinion, giving somebody too much creative control of a film is usually a bad idea. Especially if they don’t have experience commensurate with the challenges of the material. The 1997 Spawn debacle proved what can happen when the property is put in the wrong director’s hands. Let’s not repeat history.

For IESB’s full interview with Todd McFarlane (he also discuss how his project with David Fincher, Torso, recently fell apart, as well as possibility of resurrecting HBO’s Spawn animated series), you can click here.

Do you think the next Spawn film should be a big-budget studio flick, or a low-budget creep-fest under Todd McFarlane’s creative control?

Source: IESB

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McFarlane Teases Us About A Spawn Sequel

Bruce Simmons — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:02:51 +0000

Spawn. You either love him or hate him. His presence is totally cool. And ya gotta love the characters human name, Al Simmons. What a cool name, huh? But a question has arisen amongst the masses. Especially the masses who read Screen Rant and we hear you! Is there wind of a Spawn sequel in the pipes?

About Spawn
Spawn is about a CIA agent named Al Simmons who is assassinated by his own people and gets sent to hell. Yet Simmons makes a bad deal with the devil and becomes an undead “hellspawn” back on Earth, all so he can see his wife just one more time. It gets complicated for me from there, suffice it to say that the character suffers greatly in his quests to fight evil and try to figure out how to break this terrible deal he made. To me, he’s a tortured soul. I like the battle tortured souls must deal with.

Spawn first appeared in 1992 and has been a moving force in some form of media ever since. From comics, to toys and even a movie. The toys is where it all really took off. Over on Spawn.com, which is the home site for McFarlane Toys, they feature properties for HALO, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and major league sports figures. Even though the success of his toys was the surprise spin off of everything, it’s the movie that many are asking if there will ever be a sequel to.

Will there ever be a sequel?
The mythical answer to that question is a DEFINITE: Maybe. There has always been some story about a sequel out there almost ever since the first Spawn movie, but truth be told, Todd McFarlane is probably the better guy to gauge if and when a sequel would be in the pipe.

Todd McFarlane was being interviewed over on GamePro.com about some games and associated toys and they dug a bit about his take on the very thing we are interested in, a new movie. And what I see is not something to get super hyped up about, but if the conditions are right, we may be in luck.

Todd said that ever since Iron Man hit the screen, he’s been getting calls about moving forward on a Spawn sequel, but strangely enough, he’s more focused on creating a low budget, cool, creepy kind of a movie rather than a big bucks extravaganza. That would be refreshing, and we know if done right, it can be done.

McFarlane is a very patient man. He wields a commodity that will not fade soon and he knows it. He was impressed with how Iron Man was marketed since he (McFarlane) felt Shellhead wasn’t a premiere character. (Sorry Vic, you and Todd may have to have a chat some day!) What McFarlane seems to be waiting for is when the studios burn through the top tiered super heroes of their titles. Told you he was patient.

He wants to make a $10 million dollar movie but there’s one hitch to the whole process and that is that he wants to direct it. He calls it the dealbreaker.

Though he didn’t direct the first flick, he must have something up his sleeve to say that. Personally, if he’s saying that’s the dealbreaker, then the studios need to reconsider. This is the man behind the franchise who’s been living with it since day one, and he just doesn’t feel like he has to reconvey everything in his head to someone else. The man behind the vision of one of the more robust franchises out there can’t be a bad candidate to direct the swirling mass of ideas in his head on a character he created. Can he?

The funny side of the issue is that he thinks at $10 mil, they’d end up with an inexperienced director anyway, so why not let it be him? In the same sentence he notes that Frank Miller is directing his own stuff. Nice subtle nudge there if you ask me… then again Frank Miller’s The Spirit is looking pretty darned awful, so that might not be the best name to bring up right now. At least McFarlane didn’t throw around Joss Whedon as another example, even if it is a good one.

If there were to be a Spawn sequel, what would it be like?:
Just to whet your appetites, he did touch on a very thin scheme of an outline in the interview. McFarlane said that if he would do the movie, it would be a drama with a spook in it. No super villian or nemesis, just “a sentinel stuck in the middle of The Godfather.”

For the moment gang, there are no concrete plans to jettison a new Spawn movie at us, but if we’re patient, we will see one sooner or later it sounds like. The comic is still going strong, they’ve got the animated series, you know it’s inevitable. At least I think so. I’m patient. It better be worth the wait.

Source: GamePro.com, Image Cr: Spawn.com

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