Todd McFarlane, creator of the demonic anti-hero Spawn, is still waiting to see a script emerge from a project that has been in development hell for years.
We’re sure that jokes have been made many times regarding the irony of a demonic superhero film project being trapped in development hell, so we’ll sidestep that opening and go straight for the lead: Todd McFarlane still hasn’t seen a script for Spawn. This is despite Jason Blum ‘promising’ (his words, not ours) that the film would arrive in 2025.
Back in October, even when the actors strike was still ongoing, Jason Blum stepped up to proclaim that “2025 is when Spawn is going to come out. I stand by that. I stand by that.” Off the back of such a certain statement, we imagine the internet is going to hold Mr Blum to that pledge. In turn, that means that Spawn's development timeline is going to be scrutinised to see if the project is moving along as briskly as it needs to.
We’re now at the beginning of 2024 and the creator of Spawn, Todd McFarlane, has revealed that the script isn’t quite finished yet. Speaking to Comicbook.com, McFarlane said, “[Producer] Jason Blum is one of the better ones at getting things done. They tell me I get to read the script this month. The email is going out this week to remind them that they promised me that.”
It’s good to know that McFarlane is ready with his emails to hold the writing team to their promised deadlines. In fact, the Spawn creator went even further, stating that he’d take back control of the project if he needed to, adding: “Something’s gotta happen. Something’s gonna happen. I just know myself, something’s gonna happen ’cause if I can’t figure it out inside [the Hollywood system], I’ll figure it out [independently]. I just know myself. But hopefully we can figure out a deal that keeps all the parties that have been involved over the years involved.”
That’s a surprisingly strong take for a creator who finally seems to be on the verge of seeing his creation realised on screen for the first time since an unloved 1997 film adaptation. McFarlane’s promise (or is it a threat?) to take the project in an independent direction is even more notable given that the project languished for years in development hell under his stewardship. (That’s not a criticism at all, merely an observation of the many difficulties he faced in trying to finance an independent version of the film.)
With the clock now ticking on Blum’s promise, it’s surely only a matter of time before we hear positive news on the Spawn front. We’ll let you know when that happens.
