A second feature-length outing for cult comic book hero Spawn has been in the works for over two decades at this point, with multiple filmmakers attempting to reboot the character for modern audiences. The latest version, which is being spearheaded by creator Todd McFarlane and Blumhouse head honcho Jason Blum, feels like it’s been in development forever, and given the continued effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, there’s even less movement these days than usual.
Jamie Foxx is still slated to play Spawn despite joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe to reprise his role as The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s Electro, while Jeremy Renner is the only other cast member officially confirmed for the project. McFarlane has constantly talked up the new take on his source material, but even he admitted that people wanted to see the reboot gain some serious forward momentum instead of listening to him shilling it all the time with no evidence to back it up.
In a recent interview, Blum has now admitted that Spawn is taking a lot longer to come together than originally expected, which is hardly news to anyone that’s held even a passing interest in the movie’s trudge towards the big screen.
“It’s gonna be very different, it’s gonna be very edgy. What excited me about it is that Spawn is kind of the last great unexploited comic. So that seemed like an amazing opportunity. It’s taken longer than I hoped it would have to get the story right, but we’re still working on it.”
The fact that the story is still being polished even after years in development indicates that we’re not going to hear about Spawn entering production any time in the near future, and even when it does get the official green light, the implementing of the various health and safety protocols required to mount a big budget production in the age of COVID-19 is poised to create even more headaches for a comic book adaptation that seems to be getting hit with setbacks at virtually every turn.