There are few people in the entertainment industry as persistent as Todd McFarlane. Despite having one film adaptation of his iconic “Spawn” comic book series become a colossal box office failure, he’s spent the past 20 years fighting to get a new adaptation to reach the silver screen. Though there is no reason to believe the movie is still actually happening, McFarlane continues to drop tiny pieces of news to keep us talking about it, until the moment it just spawns into existence (just like the Snyder Cut). The latest? A tease of a “big fish” being offered a chance to bring McFarlane’s dream to reality.
Speaking with Comicbook.com, McFarlane debunked a rumor from last month that Jamie Foxx had dropped out, but did confirm that they lost a major talent. “About a month ago, I had a big fish. I just about got him on deck, right? It was the one that some people misheard and said I lost Jamie, it was like no an addition, an addition,” McFarlane said. “But we lost him and those are always frustrating because whenever you got the fish out of the water, pull them up on deck and the line breaks.”
McFarlane did say that there’s a chance of someone else coming along. “We got an offer out to, I think, a bigger fish. So, there weren’t too many bigger than the first guy, but anyway, we’ll see. If I could’ve got the last guy, it would’ve been a home run. If I can get this guy, it will be a grand slam. This one will blow up the Internet.”
Additionally, McFarlane spoke with Forbes about why he’s insistent on turning “Spawn” into a film instead of a TV show. “People ask why not a TV show instead of a movie? Part of it is I’ve never directed a feature film,” he said. “I had an itch to scratch. This might be my only chance. I’ve held on to the rights to attach myself to it. If it works out, we can always bring it over to television. Can we do it as a feature and release to a streamer? Sure, maybe. But there’s something to having your picture on a big screen, assuming that’s still an option once this is all over.”