Although the film has been slow to make much progress, Jamie Foxx remains as committed as ever to Todd McFarlane’s highly anticipated Spawn film.
Though a Spawn reboot has been hinted at for years now, Jamie Foxx has not let that time affect his desire to be the lead of the film. The long in-development Spawn reboot, once set to be directed by Canadian comic book writer and filmmaker Todd McFarlane, has been rumored to come to fruition since 2018. Progress has been slow for some time, with financing and story issues cropping up over the years. At long last, though, Spawn scored a major update recently when it added a trio of writers * Scott Silver, Malcolm Spellman, and Matt Mixon * to the project.
Alongside Foxx, Jeremy Renner is the only other talent attributed to the film so far, though his involvement is now uncertain. Foxx will take on the role of Spawn’s Albert Simmons. According to comic book origins, Simmons is an assassin hired by the American government who ends up getting killed as a result of a double cross. When Simmons’ wakes up in Hell, he is offered the chance to return to Earth, but on the condition that he returns with and leads a demonic army. Simmons accepts this deal and takes his place back on Earth as a “Hellspawn”; however, with the new title came partial amnesia and a horribly burned body. In his efforts to not return to Hell, the man formerly known as Simmons cleans up the streets under the new name Spawn.
Even with an origin story rife with complexity, it is surprising that Foxx has been unwaveringly committed to his Spawn role for four years. McFarlane, who created a Spawn animated series in the past, shares that feeling and commented on it at New York Comic-Con. He tells ComicBook.com that Foxx is not only committed, but insistent on getting the project up and running. McFarlane says:
I know that in all my conversations with Jamie, he's never wavered on being in this movie, actually, to the opposite, he leaves me messages all the time like 'Let's get going, man, come on man. The moments here we gotta strike. Let's go.' We've been talking about this being a sophisticated movie, right? I mean, I've been up on stage going, I'm gonna write, produce, direct and here it is going to be. I've been pushing that on Jamie and he's sort of in that world.Will The Spawn Movie Reboot Ever Get Off The Ground?
Given the four-year wait between now and the announcement of the reboot, there is some valid speculation as to whether Foxx’s new Spawn movie will ever see the light of day. There is hope yet thanks to the recent hiring of the three writers, all of whom seem excited at the prospect of bringing Spawn back to life. However, it should be mentioned that the addition of new writers isn’t a confirmation that the movie will be completed; Spawn also tapped a different writer, Brian Tucker, just last year. The latest update is definitely promising, as is Foxx and McFarlane’s personal excitement. Those could result in Spawn finally being made.
The apparent dedication to the film from not only Foxx but from the writing staff as a whole is enough to generate hope among fans of the antihero. That being said, those who have been waiting for the reboot should hope cautiously, as McFarlane’s Spawn ambitions can be traced back all the way to 2005. If this movie ever does end up getting made, it will be exciting to see if the commitment from the full team can successfully have the film live up to the ever rising expectations.
