It looks like Todd McFarlane will be bringing back the dark hellspawn once again in theaters. The first movie released on Aug. 1, 1997 was interesting enough to visualize the franchise in live action, but the critics and numerous fans bashed on the movie's dull story and direction. McFarlane hopes that the upcoming reboot will fix that.
Gamespot did a cover on the issue when writer Todd McFarlane mentioned about bringing back Al Simmons (also known as Spawn) in the theaters. He also strived to make some changes on this new movie making it very different from the 1997 film adaptation. McFarlane explained that the script had a "dark, R-rated, scary, badass" feel to it.
He also mentioned earlier in Comicbook.com that he already did the finishing touches on the screenplay of the movie. McFarlane mentioned that he is in process of editing the 183-page script, despite the producers wanting the usual 120 pages. He also believes that the script will eventually end up having 140 pages with him "putting in details for [himself]."
McFarlane also mentioned that he'll be doing the movie mostly himself, trying to steer clear of the big companies doing modern superhero films with a big budget. He desires to direct the movie without trying to implement too much "crazy special effects," stressing that he wants to "keep it small" and "keep it tight."
The comic "Spawn" first appeared in 1992 as Todd McFarlane's first title in Image Comics. The first issue was widely well received, selling around 1.7 million copies.
The story revolves around a black ops agent named Al Simmons who was betrayed and killed and was sent to hell. The evil being Malebolgia made a deal with the agent to lead an army of hell so Simmons could be brought back to life and see his wife Wanda. That eventually turned him into the dark hero Spawn. Eventually, Spawn used his powers for good and went against the forces of evil.