While there hasn't yet been a major update on the status of Todd McFarlane's planned cinematic reboot of Spawn, the original film's star Michael Jai White is skeptical the movie will ever actually get made.
Following the release of the the original Spawn film in 1997, which starred White as the Image Comics antihero, a follow-up has been in and out of development. In 2017, McFarlane announced he will direct the planned reboot, produced by Blumhouse Productions, but White isn't quite so sure about the project's viability.
"He's been trying to get a new movie up and going for 23 years so I don't know. [Laughs] The last time I saw him, he was telling me about his idea of Spawn being ethereal fog that you don't see, like Jaws, and he strikes and you never see him and I'm like 'Okay, good luck with that!' White tells CBR. "Personally, I wish him well, that would be a major investment."
One of the major points of disconnect for White is McFarlane helming the production himself rather than letting in an outside director like the 1997 film's Mark A.Z. Dippe. While White wishes McFarlane and attached lead Jamie Foxx well, he doesn't see the production gaining traction beyond the hype.
"I don't know Todd to be a director at all. It's kind of like Stan Lee: He created the character but he doesn't direct him and I guess somebody would have to pony up a lot of money for Todd McFarlane to direct for his first time directing this movie idea that he has. I've heard about Jamie Foxx starring in it and wish them well. I don't know, maybe it continues because this is what people like to hear from Todd McFarlane. He can get attention by promising another Spawn; I don't get it."