SPAWN Creator Todd McFarlane Blames Himself For The New Movie's Screenplay Not Selling

SPAWN Creator Todd McFarlane Blames Himself For The New Movie's Screenplay Not Selling

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane remains hard at work on a new big screen adaptation featuring the character, but he's now blamed himself for the screenplay he's written not selling to film studios...

By JoshWilding - Apr 15, 2020 02:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Spawn
Source: Forbes

In 1997, a Spawn movie was released starring Michael Jai White and, well, it wasn't particularly well-received! In fact, it was slated by fans and critics alike, so there's been a lot of excitement surrounding the news that the character's creator, Todd McFarlane, is now planning to bring the anti-hero back to the big screen. 

While he's already managed to attract some big names to the project, McFarlane - who penned the screenplay and plans to direct - seems to be struggling to sell his script to a major studio. 

"I wrote the first draft of the screenplay," McFarlane told Forbes. "If I'd done my job and written a screenplay that mattered, that would have sold it. I'm culpable on that end to start with."

"That's why I went to get Jason Blum to produce, and attached Jamie [Foxx ]and Jeremy [Renner] - to add the quality to it," he added, acknowledging why financiers may have their doubts about working with an inexperienced filmmaker. "My goal is to continue to add those kind of quality people at all levels. The more I can add those people, the less I become relevant as a risk."

As of right now, no plot details or a release date have been revealed for Spawn, and despite some impressive names being attached to the movie, we don't know when - or it - it will happen.

We'll be sure to keep you guys updated, though! 

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Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 4/15/2020, 2:42 AM
I'm pretty sure this is never getting made, but if it does with the projected budget ($10-12 million) I don't know how it can't be a disaster at least on a visual level.

That said, I guess I can kinda respect McFarlane's statement here. It's not often you hear someone admitting they wrote a shitty script!
tmp3
tmp3 - 4/15/2020, 2:53 AM
@Feralwookiee - You can make a good looking Spawn movie for $10-12m. The cape wouldn't do all the crazy shit it did in the comics, but if it focused on the Sam/Twitch aspect instead of the big robots or angels or demons from hell then it's feasible. Uncut Gems cost $20m and that looked beautiful.
tmp3
tmp3 - 4/15/2020, 2:51 AM
This is a bad way to make a movie. Adding talent around a bad script doesn't make the script any better, it just polishes a turd. He really should have just handed the character off to a capable writer and director if he wants this movie made that bad, especially if he was able to get Jamie Foxx in the lead role
Dredd97
Dredd97 - 4/15/2020, 3:14 AM
@tmp3 - Yeah, as much as I like creators helping and consulting, they maybe shouldn't write the movies. Especially MacFarlane, who seems to have a bit of an unchecked ego
tmp3
tmp3 - 4/15/2020, 3:21 AM
@SmokingMan - His recent kickstarter success is only gonna boost his ego, haha. Maybe he should stick to comics and toys. Also, Spawn seems like such an easy character to not screw up, Todd's comics aren't exactly Infinite Jest or anything so I don't know how he's struggling to adapt his own work.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 4/15/2020, 4:36 AM
@tmp3 - He's struggling because his idea sucks. And he's too stubborn to change it. No one wants to see a Spawn movie where the main characters are Sam and Twitch and Spawn himself only appears in the background lurking in the shadows and only gets talked about by criminals as if he's some kind of boogy man that may not even exist.

That might have been a decent idea as a spinoff movie or something a little further down the line. But when you're trying to bring a character back into the mainstream with a new movie, a character that is known for being overly fantastical and powerful, people want to see that on screen. Not this weird idea.

I know he mentioned making the first movie low key and then exploring Spawn in more detail in sequels. But that just isn't going to work. And attaching popular actors to it still isn't going to sell a script that no one wants to see.
GreedoSarducci
GreedoSarducci - 4/15/2020, 6:39 AM
@tmp3 - I'd rather he just stick to comics. His action figures, while nice to look at, have consistently sucked.
Dredd97
Dredd97 - 4/15/2020, 8:03 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I agree with everything you said. And here's the thing, he is not guaranteed a sequel on any grounds, look at the new Hellboy. So why wait to do something with your property when it's been in development hell (haha) for years? Why waste a chance to show off your creation? It's stupid
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 4/15/2020, 9:17 AM
@tmp3 - He really should have just handed the character off to a capable writer

Would anyone, though? Last time he handed off the character he ended up taking Gaimen to court for a decade trying to steal his creations.
pclark
pclark - 4/15/2020, 4:33 AM
"My goal is to continue to add those kind of quality people at all levels. The more I can add those people, the less I become relevant as a risk."

This quote speaks volumes to McFarlanes lack of understanding of the system of film making. The Director is THE end all and be all of the movies quality/style and substance. If a movie sucks it falls on the directors shoulders and the writers shoulders equally. And since he is intending to be both... double whammy. Yes he can write comics, but it has been shown several times in the past that the writer of a comic often cannot translate that comic effectively into a live action realm. The only exception so far has been Kirkman on the Walking Dead, and that is because he was quite willing to let the show (and the popularity of characters as played by the actors) guide the stories finer points. He was willing to let things unfold differently on the show vs in the comic. McFarlane is not that nuanced, IMO. He is more like a sledgehammer used to unearth a china cup. ;-)
REMIMARKS
REMIMARKS - 4/15/2020, 4:39 AM
I feel like this movie will need writer/ director with some credibility and well known in writing horror movies. Todd McFarlane is great for creating spawn, but the transition to writing comics to writing/directing a movie is a challenge. For example, Frank Miller wrote and directed the Spirit. Get writer and artist...but the movie was a mess. Comic genius doesn't always translate to movies.
dragon316
dragon316 - 4/15/2020, 5:32 AM
@REMIMARKS - same with comic costume doesn’t always translate well to movies wolverine mask, Wanda helmet thing, Hawkeye purple mask, look unrealistic more cartoony
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 4/15/2020, 4:42 AM
He literally said that he "wrote a screenplay that doesn't matter".

So instead of changing it and making it "matter", aka write something people want to see, he decides to stubborn and keep moving with his script that he knows people aren't interested in. What an idiot.

No amount of popular cast members is going to make people want to see a crappy movie that doesn't interest them.
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 4/15/2020, 5:30 AM
I really thought this would get put through when a certain another certain dark serious comic book movie with a no so nice protagonist made a bunch money but I guess not. Probably speaks volumes about his vision of the movie if he can’t find funding for a superhero movie that only costs 20 million.

Reasonably so too that people are hesitant because I don’t think there are a lot of Spawn fans would be over the moon with what he is proposing. Spawn is a big comic book with huge concepts. Some characters can work on smaller budgets and some can’t. I would love to see a great Spawn movie. I’m not sure I want to see any kind of Spawn movie that only cost a third of what the Joker did, a movie with very little action or flashy special effects. And well I would want Spawn to be the star of a Spawn. Duh.
tmp3
tmp3 - 4/15/2020, 5:42 AM
@TheUnworthyThor - Blumhouse's Overt-Kill:
TheUnworthyThor
TheUnworthyThor - 4/15/2020, 5:47 AM
@tmp3 -
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 4/15/2020, 5:43 AM
I think that if he could get this movie made for around 15-20 million dollars then financially it’ll be considered a success. With merchandising this movie is guaranteed to make $80 million.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 4/15/2020, 5:49 AM
This guy....
knocturnalzen10
knocturnalzen10 - 4/15/2020, 9:47 AM
@BlackBeltJones - amazing artist but his ego ... i swear :/ ... he'd be smart to let someone with proper skill conveying his visual well on the big scene... i thought that be logical but ...... (soft shrug)
movienerd84
movienerd84 - 4/15/2020, 5:57 AM
I've been reading and hearing this from Todd for nearly 20 years, just let it go and have someone like GDT have a go.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 4/15/2020, 5:58 AM
Sorry Todd, you need to at least add a co-writer, there are a ton in Hollywood who would love to work on Spawn.
Kman
Kman - 4/15/2020, 6:39 AM
“So it’s a Spawn movie - but there’s like no Spawn in it”....how could this fail? lol
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