It’s been over 20 years since New Line released “Spawn” in theaters. While not a complete bomb, relative to its modest budget, the film just didn’t live up to fans’ expectations and was quickly lumped together with “Batman & Robin” as the downfall of superhero cinema. Well, now the film landscape has drastically changed, and superheroes are all the rage. And with that, “Spawn” is now a hot commodity, once again.
We’ve known for a while now that “Spawn” was getting the reboot treatment thanks to creator Todd McFarlane writing and directing the upcoming micro-budget film through Blumhouse Productions. However, the big news today is who they might get the lead the cast, and surprisingly, it’s a pretty big name.
According to That Hashtag Show (proceed with your grain of salt), actor Jamie Foxx is the studio’s first choice to play Al Simmons, aka Spawn, in the upcoming film. If the news of Jamie Foxx being approached for “Spawn” rings a bell, then you are probably the world’s biggest “Spawn” and/or Jamie Foxx fan.
Years ago, when asked which superheroes he would be interested in playing, Foxx specifically mentioned Spawn as something he’s been actively pursuing. However, that was before the news of Blumhouse producing the outing, with a presumably small budget in play. That being said, signing on Foxx to headline the feature might be the buzz needed to put “Spawn” back on people’s radar.
That Hashtag Show also drops a little bit of knowledge on what we can maybe expect in the upcoming film. McFarlane has been very vocal about this version of “Spawn” being drastically different than the original film from 1997. Instead of making the character a run-of-the-mill superhero, like say Iron Man or Batman, the director is interested in making Spawn more like the shark in “Jaws.” Hardly seen, but a force to be reckoned with, nonetheless.
The new rumor corroborates that idea, but adds that “Spawn” character Detective Twitch will be the primary character and will team up with the titular hero to wipe out the bad guys.
They also mention that the hope is to get “Spawn” under production by the beginning of August. So even if Foxx isn’t the guy for the role, we should be hearing some casting news sooner than later.