Spawn creator Todd McFarlane hasn’t given up on the creation of a second live-action Spawn film, even though it has been in development since 1998.  The first Spawn movie debuted in 1997 and earned a total of $87.8 million worldwide, barely enough to defray its $40 million cost, but plans for a sequel were announced in 1998, and various projects have slipped away over the intervening years.  Now however, with several extremely talented African-American actors such as Jamie Foxx expressing interest in playing Spawn on the big screen, the project appears to have regained some momentum.
 
McFarlane told The Gate that he is under pressure to provide a screenplay for the sequel, "The reality is that I have a lot of pressure.  They want me to deliver a script by the end of the year, which would basically mean that we would be shooting next year.  So that’s the goal right now."  McFarlane is talking about writing, directing, and producing the sequel, which means that he has to clear lots of time from his busy schedule to focus on the project.
 
As for the sequel itself, McFarlane sees it as basically different from the first film, "In terms of production, the Spawn remake will be a very different film from the original, a 60-70 day shoot... I think it’s a quick shoot.  It’s not going to have a giant budget or a lot of special effects.  It’s going to be more of a horror movie and thriller movie, not a superhero one.  I’ve got so many people phoning me now that I have got to get it done.  I’ve made some promises to people this year."
 
The question remains will movie-going audiences remember the character after such a long hiatus from the screen--and it’s not exactly as if Spawn comics have much of the heat today that they had back in 1997.  But McFarlane is promising to "get this project off the ground with some big names," and it may be the cast, rather than the franchise that brings the crowds to a Spawn sequel, when and if one does materialize on the big screen.