Hell’s army is stirring, and it looks like they’ve found their commander to lead the charge when the new Spawn film drops.
According to sources, actor Jamie Foxx recently signed on to star in the upcoming Spawn reboot. The film is currently being written and directed by the comic’s creator, Todd McFarlane, and will be produced by Blumhouse productions, a company that gave us Get Out, Insidious, The Purge, and Paranormal Activity.
For those unaware of the Spawn franchise, the story centers on Al Simmons, a member of an elite task force for the CIA, who was double-crossed and killed by a fellow mercenary at the order of CIA director Jason Wynn. Simmons was sent to Hell for his occupation as an assassin and struck a deal with Malebolgia, ruler of the eighth circle of hell. The deal was for Simmons to become a hell spawn, a soldier of hell’s army, in exchange for seeing his wife, Wanda Simmons, one last time. Unfortunately for Simmons, the deal does not go according to his plan. Simmons returns to earth as a decayed corpse with powers and a symbiotic suit and cape. The rest of the series sees him taking on street thugs, cyborgs, angels, and demons.
Also of note, it appears the upcoming reboot will be more akin to a horror-thriller instead of a major blockbuster super-hero flick. During an interview with Deadline, McFarlane mentioned how he wants the picture to capture the feel of the silent horror antagonist:
“The scariest movies, from Jaws to John Carpenter’s The Thing, or The Grudge and The Ring, the boogeyman doesn’t talk. It confuses people because of the comic book industry, and because they all default into their Captain America mindset and I keep saying, no, get into John Carpenter’s mindset or Hitchcock. This is not a man in a rubber suit, it’s not a hero that’s going to come and save the damsel. It’s none of that.”
It is an interesting decision to go the route of horror film instead of a blockbuster super-hero action flick, but hopefully the risk pays off. I just hope Jamie Foxx will bring a lot to the role – and hopefully not be a repeat of his performance as Electro.
