Less is more for Todd McFarlane’s directorial debut.
Todd McFarlane is something of a legendary name in the comic book world, thanks to a vivid style and for being one of the co-creators of Venom.
Venom is, of course, hot property right now after Tom Hardy fronted a gargantuan worldwide box office take of over $855 million, with a sequel almost certain to follow soon.
Before that, we may well get a visit from another of McFarlane’s other hellish signatures, that one being Spawn.
A cinematic reboot of Spawn has been languishing in the dreaded development hell for over two decades now, following the poorly received 1997 version that placed Michael Jai White in the title role.
Here’s how that one looked:
Clip via Movieclips Classic Trailers
Critics were unkind to that outing, but Venom’s recent success might suggest that such a reception is no longer a concern, given that Hardy’s adventure took a beating from reviewers but still made incredible bank.
Though there’s still much work to do on a new Spawn movie, the current plan has Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner attached with noted horror studio Blumhouse in control.
As for Todd McFarlane? He stands to make his directorial debut with the project and he seems pretty confident that it can be a hit, but only if done right.
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter over the weekend, McFarlane explained that he’s presently putting the financing together and trying to convince people that superhero movies don’t necessarily need to be as large scale as an Avengers movie anymore.
“Venom is a perfect example,” he offers.
“You can take an ‘anti-hero character’ who was originally created as a villain and make them this sort of do-gooder. Even though he doesn’t play by the rules, you can make a billion dollars.
“I’m asking them, what’s the movie, whether it’s Deadpool or Guardians of the Galaxy or Suicide Squad or The Joker, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil…which one is it that’s failing? None.”
McFarlane goes on to note that he expects his Spawn to be a low budget affair, one that doesn’t need to colour outside the lines too much.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell Hollywood,” he notes.
“Why is Spawn going into a dark corner that doesn’t follow the norms? Why is that one going to be the odd fit that’s not going to swim upstream? Of course it will.
“If we keep the budget small, of course it will sell, and now we get to say, ‘From the co-creator of Venom’ on top of it. Cool.”
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