Todd McFarlane Says He's Getting Closer to Having a Script for 'Spawn' Reboot

Remember Spawn? One of the ’90s most memorable comic-book characters, he was an undead nocturnal specter with a giant red cape, menacing chains, and a pesky clown-from-hell sidekick who mocked his eternal damnation (which came about when, while dying, he sold his soul to the devil in order to see his wife again). His big-screen adventures began with the disappointing 1997 feature film starring Michael Jai White — and, so far, have ended there, too. For those who hold out hope the anti-hero will get a second chance at the movies, good news appears to be on the horizon: Creator Todd McFarlane is writing a new feature film for the superhero, and he says he’s almost completed the script.

Speaking to Tiffany Smith on AMC’s Geeking Out (in an exclusive clip provided to ComicBook.com), McFarlane revealed that he’s hard at work on “a dark, R-rated, scary, badass sort of script” (for an original story, not a sequel), and that unlike his previous adaptation — which also featured John Leguizamo as the aforementioned obese demon clown, and Martin Sheen as the government baddie who had Spawn’s human self murdered — it will barely feature its title character on screen.

Related: As ‘The Crow’ — and Time — Flies: Tracking the Bid to Get This Reboot Started Since 2008

“You’re never going to see a dude in a rubber suit…This is going to be my Jaws shark…the ghost is going to come out of the black, and if you’ve got evil in your heart, you better watch out, because he will mess you up.”

Given that Spawn is far from the name-brand property it was back in the ’90s, this new film project remains something of a wait-and-see prospect. Nonetheless, McFarlane — who’s apparently still whittling down his script — does sound confident it’ll eventually make its way to theaters. You can watch his chat on Geeking Out and read more about his upcoming Spawn reboot plans at ComicBook.com.

‘Spawn’: Watch the trailer for the 1997 feature film: