Does anybody want a Spawn movie without Spawn? We’re apparently about to find out because Todd McFarlane has that as his big idea for the dark, R-rated comic book film he’s been trying to make for 20 years.
Speaking with AZ Central, McFarlane compares the lack of Spawn in his film to the way Steven Spielberg so effectively used the shark in Jaws. Is it an apt comparison? Eh.
“I like to explain that it’s my ‘Jaws.’ Spawn doesn’t say a word the entire movie, and it’s the same way with ‘Jaws.’ It’s about the sheriff and the people, chasing the ghost. That’s it…The lead role isn’t Spawn, the lead role is a cop, like Sheriff Brody from ‘Jaws.’ I think we can hook a fairly significant actor that we want. Unlike a superhero movie, we wouldn’t need an actor to put on prosthetic (makeup) or go to the gym. We just need him to act.”
We’ve been down this road before with McFarlane, and again it doesn’t sound like McFarlane is really making a Spawn movie. He’s making a cop movie with a Hellspawn in it. That said, he’s only working with a $10M budget, so this will keep costs down, and he’s got the power of Blumhouse behind him. Blumhouse can do more with $10M than just about any studio on Earth.
McFarlane adds that they are now entering the casting and budgeting phases with a script ready to go. I think at this point my confidence is with Blumhouse more than it is with McFarlane, who has never directed anything and has an idea for Spawn that sounds seriously sketchy.
