Jamie Foxx is Cast as Spawn in Todd McFarlane’s Horror Reboot

After having previously expressed interest in the character, a Deadline exclusive reports that it looks like Jamie Foxx will take on the leading role in Todd McFarlane’s upcoming Spawn adaptation.

 

McFarlane, who is making his directorial debut with this film inspired by his own comics, has said that the film will not be an origin story of the ’90s Hellspawn comic book character. Instead, he compared the film to this year’s A Quiet Place in the sense that it will throw audiences directly into the action. This may help to distinguish the film from the poorly-received 1997 adaptation that did feature the character’s origin.

 

Though the titular role will apparently not require many lines, McFarlane says that Jamie Foxx was the person he first thought of casting while writing the script. He acknowledges that he’s seen Foxx do things on screen that he thinks this anti-hero needs. Foxx, a big fan of McFarlane’s work with the comics, reports that he met the writer last year and expressed his interest in playing the role. Foxx’s most recent role based on a comic book character was in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in which he played the role of Max Dillon, better known as the supervillain Electro.

 

 Spawn, to be produced by Blumhouse, is estimated to cost $10-12 million, and will likely carry an R-rating. No release date is currently set.