Todd McFarlane to Direct Spawn Reboot for Blumhouse

aka Spawn, in the early '90s for Image Comics. His popularity skyrocketed that decade, and New Line Cinema eventually commissioned an adaptation from director Mark A.Z. Dippé and screenwriter Alan B. McElroy, with Michael Jai White playing the eponymous character. Unfortunately, the movie became a critical and commercial failure for the studio, and that put a damper on plans to develop a sequel.

The Spawn sequel fell into development hell in 1998, and that's where it remained for several years. McFarlane campaigned to get the sequel made throughout the late '90s and the early '00s, though it wasn't until Christopher Nolan's Hollywood studios perceived comic book characters) that the comic book creator considered rebooting the character in the vein of Nolan's film instead of developing a direct sequel. It has been 11 years since that news broke, and fans are still waiting for that reboot. However, it seems like things are finally starting to move forward.

Last year, McFarlane stated that he wanted to write, produce, and direct fielding calls from dozens of producers who wanted the rights to the character, though McFarlane said that he hadn't decided on anyone yet due to his stipulations for creative control. Well, it looks like that has changed. Today, McFarlane announced on Facebook that he's writing and directing the Spawn reboot, with Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions producing the film.

Spawn would mark Blumhouse's first foray into the world of superheroes (if we don't count the film, Get Out.

The original Spawn movie released 20 years ago, and it finally looks like the character's fans are going to see the antihero on the big screen once again; when that will happen, though, is yet to be determined. McFarlane has said that he has a rough draft of the script, and with Blumhouse g on, that could mean they're far enough into development to begin production within the next year or so. We'll just have to wait and see.