28 Years Later, This Superhero Movie Still Needs a Reboot (It’s Been Close to Happening for So Long)

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The beginning of superhero movies was a curious period. Richard Donner’s Superman showed Hollywood that comic book adaptations could be very profitable, but it took a while for studios to try and repeat that success. When they did, they generally stuck to safe choices. For a long time, the movie landscape was dominated by the four Superman films (from the late 70s to the late 80s) and the four Batman movies (from the late 80s to the late 90s), along with a few risky projects like Howard the Duck (1986), Judge Dredd (1995), and Spawn (1997).

While films like Howard the Duck and Judge Dredd didn’t perform well, Spawn actually made a profit – earning $87.9 million on a budget of around $45 million. Despite this success, a sequel or reboot has never materialized, even though creator Todd McFarlane has repeatedly tried to make one happen. It’s surprising, because a new Spawn movie could still be successful.

The Attempts to Get a Spawn Sequel or Reboot Made

Since the first Spawn movie was released, there have been ongoing efforts to recapture its financial success. A sequel, Spawn 2, was seriously considered between 1998 and 2001, but ultimately never materialized.

It’s interesting to consider what might have happened if the movie had followed Todd McFarlane’s original plan. The sequel he envisioned would have centered on the characters Sam and Twitch, who only make a quick appearance in the film, escorting Jason Wynn (played by Martin Sheen) to begin his prison sentence. A Spawn sequel that didn’t feature Spawn as the main character would have been a risky move, as fans of the first movie would likely have been disappointed to see the titular character take a backseat.

Work on the project began with a fresh start around 2007, with an initial target release date of 2008. Although that release didn’t materialize, McFarlane has consistently worked to move the project forward. By 2009, he’d begun writing a script based on a story idea he’d had for almost a decade. He described it as a self-contained, R-rated story intended to be unsettling and frightening, rather than a sequel or continuation of previous work.

Michael Jai White has expressed interest in reprising his role, but he’s also been critical of the original 1997 film. Because of this, even if a sequel had been made in the 2010s, another actor who was more enthusiastic about the project likely would have been cast to create a new version. A release in the 2010s, roughly fifteen years after the first film, would have meant a reboot rather than a continuation of the original story.

Jamie Foxx really wanted to make this movie and worked hard to get it off the ground. After showing interest around 2013, he was officially cast in the lead role in 2018.

Blumhouse’s Involvement

By 2016, Todd McFarlane had finished a script for a new Spawn movie, ready to film. This version would have been a lower-budget horror film, a departure from the more traditional superhero style of the first movie. In 2017, Blumhouse Productions, known for making successful horror films, signed on to produce it.

By 2018, the film had a script, a lead actor, and a production company lined up. Jeremy Renner was then cast as Detective Twitch. The project seemed poised for success, particularly if Blumhouse, known for its low-budget filmmaking, could keep costs down.

Despite plans for filming to begin in June 2019, the reboot never moved forward. However, the huge success of the movie Joker five months later revived the project. After some script revisions, McFarlane announced in early 2020 that production would start by the end of the year, with him directing and Jamie Foxx (and probably Jeremy Renner) still set to star. Blumhouse would also continue to be involved.

Despite having a lot of progress and the key elements for a new Spawn movie – currently called King Spawn – the project never moved forward. This is unexpected, as it seemed like a good opportunity for Blumhouse. While it might not have reached the same level of success as their 2018 Halloween, it would have been a relatively low-budget adaptation of a well-known property with a recognizable star attached.

It’s been a while, but the combination of McFarlane, Blumhouse, and Jamie Foxx feels like a winning formula. This could launch another successful movie series for Blumhouse, as long as they’re willing to try again after the disappointing performance of M3GAN 2.0.

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2025-10-22 22:21