Readers of this site know I’ve been skeptical that Todd McFarlane’s Spawn movie will ever happen. But after more than a decade of him saying the same ol’ things about his R-rated plans with nothing moving on it, even I had a glimmer of hope when Blumhouse came aboard to make it a reality. A year has gone by since Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner joined the cast, giving it the star power it definitely needed. Things have gone nowhere since then, and McFarlane is starting to get frustrated, frustrated enough to possibly walk away from it.
Speaking with Comicbook.com, McFarlane talked about his stalled Spawn movie and it sounds as if money and creative freedom are the big stumbling blocks.
Honestly, those are some damned big stumbling blocks.
“The money’s sitting on the sidelines ready to go,” McFarlane said. “I just need to get everyone that wants to put in money to shake their heads to the same script. As you can imagine, everyone has a slightly different version of it in their head.”
“You just go and trying to appease a handful of people while not giving in to what it is that I’m trying to do myself. Because if I have to change it too much, I’ll just walk away from it all.”
Damn. I respect McFarlane’s desire to make the film as he’s always wanted to, even if it sounds depressing as Hell. But he’s working with Blumhouse now, who have a track record of success with exactly this kind of movie. If they are giving him their input on what they think will work, perhaps he should listen? He’s been trying to mount this movie for almost two decades, ever since the PG-13 stinker in 1997 bombed, and there hasn’t been a line of suitors throwing money his way.
We’ll see what happens but you know where I stand on this. #NeverHappening
