Todd McFarlane to direct and Jamie Foxx to star in new film adaptation of ‘Spawn’

Image Comics announced via Deadline that Jamie Foxx is attached to play the titular character in Todd McFarlane’s forthcoming Blumhouse Productions adaptation of McFarlane’s Spawn comic book series.

This newest adaptation—a gritty, R-rated reimagining—marks Image President, co-founder and Spawn creator, Todd McFarlane’s feature film directorial debut. McFarlane is also on board as screenwriter and co-producer with Blumhouse.

“There are five or six moments where I’m going to need things from my actors, and a couple of them have to come from Jamie, and I’ve seen him deliver them onscreen,” said McFarlane. “He gets into a zone, with body language and a look that basically will say way more than anything I could type on a piece of paper, and this movie is going to need those moments. And in the odd moment where he has to deliver a line that’s short, curt, and has impact, he can do it in a way that makes you go, ‘Whoa, I don’t want to mess with that guy. What a badass.’”

Spawn sold an unprecedented 1.7 million copies at the time it was released and is one of the world’s best-selling and longest-running monthly comic books, with hundreds of millions sold worldwide in more than 120 countries, and 15 different languages. The comic became an Emmy Award-winning animated series on HBO and a New Line Cinema feature film that grossed more than $100 million.