Blumhouse Head Jason Blum On ‘Spawn’ Reboot: “It’s Going To Be Edgy And Original As Compared To Other Superhero Movies”
JB Augustine
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Many wait with bated breath for Todd McFarlane’s next Spawn movie to finally get off the ground with the creator behind the camera. Most won’t hold their breath, though, because we all have been hearing about this getting made for years with nothing to show for it. The film’s chances grow slimmer each year, but its producer keeps his hopes high.
The Clown Prince of Crime teams up with the Angel of Armageddon on Tony S. Daniel and Tomeu Morey’s Spawn variant cover to The Joker: The Man Who Laughs Vol. 1 #3 (2023), DC Comics
Jason Blum, founder of prolific horror studio Blumhouse, relishes the opportunity to put his brand’s “edgy” spin on the Image comic. “I’m going to bring the Blumhouse edge. It’s going to be edgy and original as compared to other superhero movies. It’s gonna definitely feel like the Blumhouse version of a superhero movie,” he told the press at New York Comic-Con, via Cinema Blend.
Blumhouse is celebrated for its bloody thrillers, supernatural horrors, and the updating of big franchises like Halloween. With that in mind, Blum sounds as if he is teasing a supernatural thriller that will focus on the hellish and adult aspects of Spawn in ways the 1998 film starring Michael Jai White failed to. That film is considered a failure yet has its devotees.
Spawn (Michael Jai White) extracts the Heat-16 device from Jason Wynn’s (Martin Sheen) heart in Spawn (1997), New Line Cinema
Blum might be the right guy to take on the tragic tale of Al Simmons on paper, but lately, they’ve batted zero for putting faith in David Gordon Green. Halloween Ends divided The Shape’s fandom last year and moviegoers are resoundingly disappointed by Exorcist: The Believer — a $400 million boondoggle that is part of a planned trilogy.
That’s recent history. Most forgot about their debacle of an attempt to bring Jem and The Holograms to the big screen a decade ago. Blumhouse veered as far from the source material and its built-in following as they could, making a product so terrible that it was pulled from theaters after a week. But at least that got made.
PROJECT POWER (L to R) JAMIE FOXX as ART in PROJECT POWER Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2020
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Spawn brings the studio a new set of troubles they could have avoided by looking at Disney’s approach to Star Wars and Warner Bros. when it comes to DC. Spawn is announced but has no traction beyond the development phase. Jeremy Renner and Jamie Foxx are still attached nominally after all these years, barring whatever lingering health concerns the two struggle with.
McFarlane wrote the script’s first draft, and after a rewrite was commissioned, his hands were swatted away from that part. However, he still won’t give up the directing reins despite having no feature-film experience. Additionally, McFarlane wants Spawn to be like a fog that emerges from the background every so often. There are clear signs he doesn’t know what he is doing.
Spawn (Miachel Jai White) confronts Malebolgia (Frank Welker) in Spawn (1997), New Line Cinema
The film has no concrete release date penciled in either, although Blum proclaimed his prediction to Comicbook.com of a 2025 window. ‘23 is winding down and the clock is ticking.
NEXT: Spawn Star Michael Jai White Not Confident In Todd McFarlane’s Upcoming Reboot
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