While the title character in Todd McFarlane’s forthcoming Spawn reboot will be mute, that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to get his point across either. While 1997’s Spawn movie was a modest hit, a bad script and watered down PG-13 rating meant it lacked the harsher edge of the source material. The makers of the film also tried to turn the character into more of a traditional superhero – something fans of the comic didn’t appreciate.

Todd McFarlane has been hyping his vision for a movie reboot for years now; one that would be low budget, R-rated and unlike any comic book movie out there. For a long time it seemed like a pipedream, until it was announced in 2017 Blumhouse would be producing the movie. Jason Blum’s production house specializes in taking high concept ideas and producing them on a low budget while giving director’s free reign creatively. This has paid off handsomely in the past, as seen by The Purge, Get Out and Split.

Related: Spawn Won’t Speak In Movie Reboot

McFarlane has been passionately talking up the reboot since it was announced, comparing the movie to Jaws and revealing Spawn will be the only fantastical element in the story. He’s also confirmed the character won’t actually speak throughout the movie, though he’s revealed in a new interview with Comic Book that he’ll still be able to get his message across.

So, there's a nuance here right? So Spawn, the being of Spawn, the sentinel being of Spawn doesn't speak, but I've created another way to be able to give him a voice. But what won't happen is that you won't see Spawn in his big costume and cape go 'hello everybody. I'm here to save the day'. None of that. But the presence of Spawn will have an outlet to get across his voice in a manner that will be fairly obvious to people who follow the Spawn comic book over the years.

McFarlane also confirmed casting is underway, and that while Detective Twitch from the comic will be a lead character, his partner Sam won’t appear. McFarlane’s concept for the movie certainly sounds different, and it’s hard to imagine him getting funding for the idea a decade ago. Times have changed though, and a generation that grew up on the X-Men series or phase 1 of The MCU has grown up, and are looking for darker stories. This explains how movies like Logan have been so successful.

Some other forthcoming comic book movies will be turning to the horror genre too, including X-Men spinoff The New Mutants and Tom Hardy’s Venom, which is said to be inspired by the body horror movies of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter. While there’s still fun to be had watching a team of heroes try to stop a supervillain destroying the world, that trope has gotten a little stale, and it seems audiences are leaning towards movies with more personal stakes. If the low-budget Spawn is a success, that could lead to even more interesting comic book movie genre hybrids.

More: Spawn Reboot Set In New York

The Spawn reboot doesn’t currently have a release date, but McFarlane speculates it may be ready for early 2019.

Source: Comic Book