With the hot and cold nature of the project, you wouldn’t be blamed if you constantly forget that Todd McFarlane is hard at work at bringing “Spawn” to the big screen once again. After what seemed like Blumhouse putting the superhero film on the fast-track and casting taking place, it appears that “Spawn” is now in a bit of a lull, with the future uncertain. But for McFarlane, he’s still thinking about it constantly, even when he’s watching trailers for other films.
Speaking to Comicbook.com, McFarlane explained how stumbling across one of the fall’s most anticipated films has given him new inspiration to bring “Spawn” to the big screen.
“Here’s what gave me some solace the other day,” McFarlane said. “I saw this movie trailer, it was called ‘Uncut Gems.’ It looks amazing. I know what I want my movie to look like. This movie looks like my movie, right?”
He added, “I see movies every now and then and just go visually, that’s the grit I want.”
McFarlane says that he’s so inspired by the trailer, he wants to reach out to the Director of Photography, Darius Khondji. The “Spawn” creator, who now has been given the reins to write and direct a new live-action film based on his superhero, then found himself doing some research on the Safdie Brothers’ upcoming film. And in that research, he found some inspiration.
“Then I did a little research on this movie and that script had been written 10 years ago,” he said. “And it had been floating around for 10 years, so I go ‘Oh shoot. I feel like I’m on a fast track then right now so Todd, just sit back and enjoy the glaciers moving before we get to yes.'”
You can look at this in two different ways. First, if you’re a fan of McFarlane and are excited to see what he can do with “Spawn,” you can thank “Uncut Gems” and the Safdie Brothers for inspiring him. If you’re not a fan of “Spawn” or its outspoken creator and you’re dreading the idea of seeing whatever joyless concept he has for the superhero film, you can blame “Uncut Gems” and the Safdie Brothers for inspiring him.
But damn, he’s not wrong. “Uncut Gems” looks incredible and the trailer is one of the most exciting to be released in months. Hell, if any film fan was making a movie right now and saw the trailer, you probably couldn’t help but be influenced.
That being said, do we really need “Spawn” as seen through the prism of the Safdie Brothers and their gritty take on crime and New York City? Shit. I think I just convinced myself. Maybe instead of just the cinematographer, McFarlane can just hire Josh and Benny Safdie and lean into the influence completely?
“Spawn” is still in development without a release date, but “Uncut Gems” will arrive in theaters on December 13.
