It's been a long, long time since Spawn was on the silver screen. While few people would call the 1997 film an absolute masterpiece, the first Spawn movie still has its own cult following - plus, there's always the HBO animated series that began in 1998.
Then again, that was nearly two decades ago. One could argue that Spawn is way past his mid-'90s heyday - save for the comic, Spawn fans haven't had much to go on. Todd McFarlane, the creator of Spawn, hinted at a few other projects (such as a cameo in Mortal Kombat X) - but they never materialized.
That's why fans were so excited when Todd McFarlane announced that a second feature film was entering production ... but that was way back in 2015. Since then, it's been mostly radio silence - and some fans were worried that Spawn wouldn't actually make it back to the big screen at all. Thankfully, it doesn't look like that's the case just yet: McFarlane has just confirmed that the film's script has been completed.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, McFarlane not only confirmed that the Spawn script had been completed, but that he wants to direct the film as well:
"I've finished the script, and I'm in the process of editing. It's 183 pages, and [producers] usually like 120 ... I want to keep it small, keep it tight, so they'll let me direct it! I need to get him back up on the big screen again to make him relevant in a big way, which we will do."
Granted, there's still a lot of work to be done before Spawn makes a return trip to Hollywood: at this moment, it sounds like McFarlane still needs a studio to fund the film, which could be tricky for a franchise as niche as Spawn. On the other hand, comic book adaptations are all over the place right now - and, with Deadpool becoming an unqualified success overnight, there's obviously room for more R-rated superhero films.
With any luck, Spawn won't have any trouble finding a home - but, even if things do go smoothly, don't expect to see it hit theaters anytime soon.
