Is Todd McFarlane Planning A Spawn Cinematic Universe?
It's no secret that superhero media is all the rage right now and has been for nearly a decade. 2008 saw the genesis of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Iron Man" — building on the foundation laid by the likes of 2000's "X-Men" and director Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy. On the DC side of things, the "Dark Knight" trilogy from Christopher Nolan became a smash success, 2019's "Joker" took the world by storm, and the DC Extended Universe has made waves — for better or worse. Of course, those are the comic book giants, but don't count out the smaller names just yet.
Especially within the past few years, lesser-known comic book titles have found success in big and small screen adaptation. For instance, "The Boys" is a streaming favorite with a third season and spin-off on the way, "Bloodshot" gave the Valiant Comics mainstay a chance to shine in live-action, and the animated take on "Invincible" redefined what it means to be a superhero cartoon. However, for as great as it is getting to see less-mainstream properties take the spotlight, one can't help but notice that a slightly more famous one has been suspiciously quiet through it all: "Spawn."
Since 1992, the print world of "Spawn" has expanded in all directions, thus making it ripe for a proper movie or television rendition. Does the man behind it all, Todd McFarlane, have such a project up his sleeve? Here's what he has to say on the matter.
McFarlane is in no hurry to make a Spawn cinematic Universe
Way back in 1997, "Spawn" debuted on the silver screen with Todd McFarlane in the director's chair and Michael Jai White in the lead role. Overall, it underperformed in every conceivable way — bombing with critics and not doing too hot in the financial department. At the same time, it arrived during an era when superhero movies weren't quite blockbuster material, and visual effects technology couldn't do the source material justice. Therefore, 2021 gives McFarlane the perfect opportunity to take another stab at a live-action "Spawn" project and delve deeper into Al Simmons' world, right? Yes and no.
In an interview with Deadline, Todd McFarlane discussed whether or not a "Spawn" cinematic universe could someday come to fruition."It's possible," he says, mentioning that his roster of over 400 characters could work well in an MCU-esque capacity or on their own too. McFarlane also explains streaming services are constantly searching for new comic book IPs to add to their libraries, which makes finding a platform to release it on of no concern. However, he adds that the long and arduous Hollywood production process would make it difficult for him to get the ball rolling, so he's currently in no hurry.
"In the meantime, I've got my day job that I'll keep. I'll keep inventing new ideas and characters and creators and relationships," McFarlane concludes, letting the world know that it would be unwise to hold their breath for the arrival of a "Spawn" shared universe.