Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyDeadline just got some exclusive news about Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx taking on another comic book role.
The actor, who starred as Electro in 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2, will be taking on the role of CIA black ops assassin Al Simmons in Todd McFarlane’s live action reboot of his comic book series Spawn.
After being murdered on a mission, Simmons is given the chance to return to see his wife Wanda again, but his is double crossed by the demon Malebolgia and returned to Earth as a Hellspawn; a demon warrior with supernatural powers. When he finds out that he’s returned years later and that his wife is married to his best friend and they have a child together, Al retreats to the alleys of the city where he wages a one-man war on evil as the forces that gave him his power scheme to use him as the ultimate weapon in an upcoming war.
McFarlane will make his directorial debut with Spawn as he wrote the script himself and is joining forces with Blumhouse Pictures to bring his vision of the character he created to life on the big screen with a modest budget.
McFarlane himself had his own opinion on what he wants from the film as well as what he wants audiences and critics to think about his approach to the character in his remarks to Deadline;
“The scariest movies, from Jaws to John Carpenter’s The Thing, or The Grudge and The Ring, the boogeyman doesn’t talk,” McFarlane told Deadline, acknowledging that he’s gotten odd stares from studio suits in the past on this approach. “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. At the end of the movie, I’m hoping that the audience will say either, is this a ghost that turns into a man, or is it a man that turns into a ghost? I’ve got a trilogy in mind here, and I’m not inclined in this first movie to do an origin story. I’m mentally exhausted from origin stories. Luckily, there’s a movie that just came out that helps my cause. In A Quiet Place, the first thing on screen is a card in black and white letters that says Day 89. It doesn’t care about what happened in those first 88 days. There are a couple headlines, but then we are on day 450. That movie doesn’t worry about explaining and giving all the answers. What it said in that case was, if you can hang on for a story of survival of this family, this movie will make complete sense for you.”
Foxx chimed in as well about his enthusiasm for the role saying;
“A few years back I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe… Todd McFarlane. He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character Spawn…. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity… well… the opportunity is here!! I’m humbled and ready to transform… and to top things off the young Jason Blum is lending his brilliance to the project! Time to be great!!!! #Spawn.”
I want to know what you think. What do you think of Jamie Foxx taking on the role of Spawn? Do you think Todd McFarlane can pull off directing a feature like this? Let me know in the comments below.
