We've heard rumblings about this but it's now been confirmed that Jamie Foxx (Baby Driver) will take on the title role in Spawn. The R-Rated movie is being developed at Blumhouse and the plan is for it to have a very small budget of $10 million - $12 million. Creator Todd McFarlane is writing and directing so fans know that the character is in good hands and the project definitely has some potential.
McFarlane says that his version of Spawn will be a man of few words and that he intends to skip the character's origin story despite the fact he's planning a trilogy of movies for the iconic superhero.
"The scariest movies, from Jaws to John Carpenter’s The Thing, or The Grudge and The Ring, the boogeyman doesn’t talk. It confuses people because of the comic book industry, and because they all default into their Captain America mindset and I keep saying, no, get into John Carpenter’s mindset or Hitchcock.
"This is not a man in a rubber suit, it’s not a hero that’s going to come and save the damsel. It’s none of that. At the end of the movie, I’m hoping that the audience will say either, is this a ghost that turns into a man, or is it a man that turns into a ghost? I’ve got a trilogy in mind here, and I’m not inclined in this first movie to do an origin story. I’m mentally exhausted from origin stories.
"If you want to see something creepy and powerful where you go, just what the hell was that? I’m not going to explain how Spawn does what he does; he is just going to do it. We’ll eventually do some of the background if we make a trilogy, but that’s not this first movie. The first movie is just saying, do you believe? And if you believe than that’s good because I’m hoping to take you for a long ride with this franchise."
McFarlane went on to say that he's envisioned Foxx in the role ever since they first met to discuss it five years ago and the writer and director has done a great job of keeping that under wraps in the years which have followed because he's talked about this movie a lot in the time which has passed since.
Regardless, Fox is also excited to take on the role and while it doesn't sound like he'll have a whole lot of dialogue, he's clearly enthusiastic to play a character in Spawn who means a great deal to him.
"A few years back I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe… Todd McFarlane. He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character Spawn…. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity… well… the opportunity is here!! I’m humbled and ready to transform… and to top things off the young Jason Blum is lending his brilliance to the project! Time to be great!!!! #Spawn."
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