Draft:Spawn (2025 film)

Spawn is an upcoming American superhero horror film directed by Todd McFarlane, in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Scott Silver, Malcolm Spellman and Matthew Mixom. It is based on the Image Comics character of the same name and is the second live-action film to focus on the character, acting as a reboot to the 1997 film. The film is set to star Jeremy Renner as Maximilian "Twitch" Williams III, with Jamie Foxx as Albert "Al" Simmons / Spawn. The film will be produced by McFarlane and Jason Blum, for their respective Todd McFarlane Entertainment and Blumhouse Productions banners.

The film has languished in development hell, initially planned as a sequel to the 1997 film. In 2007, McFarlane began writing the script, having the premise altered to a standalone film. In 2016, McFarlane completed the screenplay, and became attached as director with Blumhouse involved the following year. In 2018, Foxx and Renner were cast in the film. Various screenwriters were involved, until Silver, Spellman, and Mixon were finally attached in 2022. Filming was delayed numerous times, with it currently set to commence in 2024.

Cast

 * Jeremy Renner as Maximilian "Twitch" Williams III: Director Todd McFarlane said Renner was his top choice for the character, saying "he radiates honesty, intelligence and a hard-working, everyman charisma, the same qualities that make Twitch such a compelling character." In the comics, Twitch works heavily alongside Sam, another cop, but McFarlane chose to exclude him from the film.
 * Jamie Foxx as Albert "Al" Simmons / Spawn: In the comics, Al was a former United States Marine turned government assassin who is murdered and becomes a "Hellspawn" after making a deal with the demon Malebolgia.

Earlier plans as sequel
In 1998, the film was initially conceived as a standalone sequel to Spawn (1997) starring Michael Jai White, with a primary focus on the detective characters Sam and Twitch, with Spawn being planned to serve as a background character. Producer Don Murphy signed onto the project in 2001.

Development
In 2007, McFarlane Funding announced development of a new feature film adaptation of the character, titled Spawn, scheduled for release in 2008. During an interview on the Scott Ferrall: Coast to Coast show on Sirius Satellite Radio, McFarlane said: "It's coming out no matter what. Even if I have to produce, direct and finance it myself, it's going to come out."

McFarlane announced on August 2009 that he had begun writing the screenplay for a new movie based on the character, saying that "the story has been in my head for 7 or 8 years[...] The movie idea is neither a recap or continuation. It is a standalone story that will be R-rated. Creepy and scary", and that "the tone of this Spawn movie will be for a more older audience. Like the film The Departed." Jai White said in July 2011 that he was interested in returning to the role, expressing his support for McFarlane's film. In July 2013, Jamie Foxx said he was "aggressively pursuing" the Spawn reboot. In August 2013, McFarlane discussed his progress with the script, stating that the film would be "more of a horror movie and a thriller movie, not a superhero one".

Pre-production
In February 2016, McFarlane announced he had completed the film's script. In July 2017, Blumhouse Productions confirmed their involvement with the film, while announcing that McFarlane had also signed on to direct the project. The film was expected to begin production by February 2018. In May 2018, it was announced that Jamie Foxx would portray the titular character. In July 2018, it was reported that Jeremy Renner would be starring alongside Foxx as Detective Twitch. In September 2018, Greg Nicotero and KNB EFX Group were hired to create the special effects for the film. On October 25, 2018, the filming start date was delayed to June 2019.

In November 2019, the film restarted development due to the financial success of the R-rated comic book film Joker. In December 2019, McFarlane hired an additional writer to help polish the script, before presenting it to a major Hollywood studio. In February 2020, McFarlane announced that production news on the film will be revealed the following month. Later that month, an unnamed Academy Award-winning screenwriter departed the film, due to scheduling conflicts. In April 2020, McFarlane mentioned his first "subpar" draft of the screenplay had a hand in the film taking so long to get made. In May 2020, the film's producer Jason Blum revealed that "There has been an enormous amount of activity on Spawn. No new news that I'm going to reveal here, I'm sorry to tell you, but the title 'Spawn,' I've been uttering that word a lot in the last two or three weeks and we'll have more news to come. But, suffice it to say, it is in very active development." In August 2021, it was revealed that Brian Tucker had been hired to rewrite the screenplay, who had experience writing in the comic book media, as he wrote several episodes for Marvel Studios' miniseries Secret Invasion (2023). In July 2022, McFarlane mentioned that there had been discussions about potentially abandoning the movie concept and developing Spawn into a streaming series instead. He also mentioned that there would be an update later that year at New York Comic Con 2022, which was set to run from October 6–9. In August 2022, Foxx announced he was still attached to the film, saying he is "getting this right", while comparing the film's tone and budget to Joker. In October 2022, it was announced that Scott Silver, Malcolm Spellman, and Matthew Mixon had been hired to pen a new draft on the screenplay; the former two having experience writing in the comic book media, as Silver co-wrote DC Films' Joker and it's sequel Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), while Spellman served as the series creator for Marvel Studios' miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) and co-wrote the film Captain America: Brave New World (2025). McFarlane has also expressed his doubts on him staying attached as director, as well as the involvement of Renner being unknown. In March 2023, McFarlane revealed that the movie's budget would increase from the previously estimated $10 million and that some major A-list talent had been attached to the film. In June 2023, Blum mentioned the film was still in very active development, despite the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and that he gave an estimated release date of 2025. Scriptwriting was eventually suspended for the duration of the WGA strike. In September 2023, following the conclusion of the 2023 WGA strike and during press junkets for The Exorcist: Believer, Blum doubled down on the 2025 release date. That same month, composer Charlie Clouser expressed interest in composing the score for the Spawn reboot. In January 2024, McFarlane revealed that if Blumhouse doesn't begin production on the film later that year, he'll make it with outside investors.

Filming
Filming was expected to commence in either February 2018, or June 2019, but was delayed for unknown reasons. In March 2020, McFarlane announced that filming was set to begin before the end of the year. However, this has since changed due to the events of the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2022, McFarlane said they planned to begin filming in early 2023. In February 2023, McFarlane teased that a draft of the script to sell would be ready by mid-2023, but commencing forward could be delayed due to the "Hollywood double strike".

Release
Spawn is set to be theatrically released in 2025, by Blumhouse Productions.

Spin-off series
In April 2020, McFarlane teased the possibility of a television series spin-off of Spawn. In June 2021, it was revealed that a Sam and Twitch TV show was in the works from Jason Smilovic and Todd Katzberg, with McFarlane executive producing under his McFarlane Films television banner alongside wiip's Paul Lee and Mark Roybal.