"It Wasn't About The Title": Spawn Movie Script Update Clarified By Todd McFarlane (2025)

Spawn creator Todd McFarlane has clarified a recent update about the script for the comic's upcoming movie adaptation at San Diego Comic-Con, saying it was about more than just the title being revealed. The horror comic's current film adaptation has been in development since 2015, going through numerous changes throughout its production. However, more concrete information was revealed by the creator last week, when he posted an image of the title page of the script on social media, revealing the movie would be titled King Spawn.

Speaking with Screen Rant at San Diego Comic-Con, McFarlane clarified his update about the Spawn movie, explaining it wasn't about the title, but rather about the script being completed. The creator cited the recent financial success of Deadpool & Wolverine as a reason why studios will be looking at King Spawn now, as he believes it can be a competitor for Marvel and DC's R-rated films. Check out what McFarlane had to say below:

For a long time, we'd go, "Trust me, we're working on it." And we were, right? But there were things in between, like a pandemic and last year's actor and writers' strikes, so it shut down a big chunk of it. But when it was possible to be moving forward, we were - it's just that people couldn't see it.

I ended up getting the script just before San Diego and I just turned to the writers and Jason at Blumhouse and I'm like, "Guys, I don't think we can keep this to ourselves. I've been telling them we're working on it, and we now have a fact." That image that I put up on Monday was basically not making any promises, not making any wishes, but saying factually, "There's a script." Now, some people misinterpreted it because it's a little bit of inside baseball, and we didn't put any comment. They went, "Oh, man, he's got a title." No, it wasn't about the title. It was that if you have that sheet, you have a script underneath it that's completed.

We have our first draft, which now allows us to go and hunt down our director, and once we've got a script and a director, then boom, instantly we go into the studio and we're off to the races. With them waking up tomorrow to a $200+ million number for Deadpool, and with Batman's villain coming out here in October, they're going to realize that they can make money doing R-rated comic book movies.

And we're hoping that because it oddly took us so long to get there, we might actually be sort of Johnny-on-the-spot to say, "Oh, you're looking for R-rated material that isn't Marvel and DC?" Because only Warner Bros. and Disney can have that. Everybody else in that city? Boom, we've got our script owned by the biggest R-rated property in comic books that you can get. There isn't even a close second, and I just say that factually based on sales.

King Spawn’s Script Being Complete Is A Huge Step For The Movie

As McFarlane said, the draft of the movie being done means the process can begin for the movie to find a director, something that can finally pull it into a faster development process after almost a decade. King Spawn already has Blumhouse as its main production company, a good sign that the movie will find a fitting director sooner rather than later. Jamie Foxx is also reportedly on board to portray the main character, another strong indication of the movie's vision being set in stone.

McFarlane also isn't wrong about how the performance of R-rated superhero movies in recent years increases the chances of his film finding a director quickly. Since the character is a popular superhero within Image Comics' roster (which includes Invincible and Savage Dragon), a big screen presence would be the perfect answer to Marvel and DC from another studio. Given the unprecedented success of , another studio may try to capitalize on it with King Spawn's release.

While the movie's development is still in the early stages, the script having only just been completed, it seems McFarlane is confident in the future expansion of the franchise. Although it's still unclear what type of story King Spawn is going to entail, the creator's belief in its success means it must be a worthwhile story for the big screen. With more concrete news sure to come as he seeks out a studio, it might not be long before the film's future home is revealed.

Spawn (Reboot)

R

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Horror

Spawn is an action-adventure horror reboot of the comic book property created by Todd McFarlane.Spawn was initially adapted for film in 1997, starring Michael Jai White in the lead role. Spawn first appeared in Image Comics in 1992 and has received much acclaim in the years since. Spawn appears on several "greatest comic book characters" lists. In 2015, McFarlane announced his intentions to make a reboot, which would be R-rated and star Jamie Foxx as the titular anti-hero.

Studio(s)

Blumhouse Productions , McFarlane Films

Distributor(s)

Blumhouse Productions

Writers

Todd McFarlane

Cast

Jamie Foxx

Franchise(s)

Spawn

Read More From San Diego Comic-Con 2024