Spawn Reboot Won’t be Filming Until 2019

The hotly anticipated movie reboot for Image’s most famous superhero, Spawn, has reportedly had its filming date pushed back to the summer of 2019, Screen Rant reports.

Based on the comic of the same name, the movie is set to follow the once-CIA/special forces operative, Al Simmons, after his untimely death leads to a deal with the devil that reincarnates him as the antihero Spawn.

Jamie Foxx is planned to portray the title character, having campaigned for the opportunity to play Spawn for six years prior to his casting. Jeremy Renner has also landed the role of Detective Max “Twitch” Williams, the secondary lead of the film and one half of a buddy cop duo known for assisting Spawn in his crime fighting while disapproving of his methods.

Unlike many superhero blockbusters, Spawn’s original creator, Todd McFarlane, plans to both write and direct the adaption. This likely came as a result of the character’s last big screen outing in 1997 which released to less than stellar reception. This may also explain why the film has been delayed, as production company Blumhouse is known for pushing back the date of their films if the creatives working on them request more time to actualize their vision. Officially, though, no reason has been given for the delay from anyone working on the movie.

This is not the first time the movie’s filming date has been pushed back. Initially, shooting was to begin in early 2018 before being moved to summer of the same year and finally to the summer of 2019.

Outside of the previous movie, Spawn received a much more successful adaption in the form of Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, an HBO animated series from 1997. Based on McFarlane’s own words, his film aims to stick closer in tone to both it and the original comics, aiming for a “nasty” R-rating without losing the emotional heart of the character. Effects by The Walking Dead’s Greg Nicotero probably won’t hurt, either.