Jamie Foxx to play Spawn five years after he begged comicbook creator Todd McFarlane to cast him
Jamie Foxx has been cast as Spawn.
Creator Todd McFarlane and the 50-year-old actor confirmed to news to Deadline on Tuesday.
The comic, first published in 1992, tells the story of Al Simmons, a marine turned black ops who is betrayed by his best friend and blown up, and is sent to hell.
New role: Jamie Foxx has been cast as Spawn
There he is betrayed once again by a demon who offers him the chance to see his wife in return for his soul; but is returned five years later after she has remarried, while he is forced to remain a demonic hellspawn.
'A few years back I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe… Todd McFarlane,' Foxx told Deadline.
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'He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character Spawn…. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity…
'Well… the opportunity is here!! I’m humbled and ready to transform.'
Squad: Creator Todd McFarlane with Jamie and the film's producer Jason Blum
MacFarlane confirmed the story, and revealed he has had Foxx and only Foxx in mind for the role since then.
'Jamie came to my office five years ago, and he had an idea about Spawn and we talked about it,' he said. 'I never forgot him, and when I was writing this script, you sort of plug people in, and he was my visual guy and I never let go of him.
Popular: The comic, first published in 1992, tells the story of Al Simmons, a marine turned black ops who is betrayed by his best friend and blown up, and is sent to hell
'When I got done and my agents and everybody was talking about what actor, I said, I’m going to Jamie first and until he says no I don’t want to think about anyone else because I’ve never had anyone else in my head.
'Luckily, he hadn’t forgotten either. I said, "Hey, I’m back to talk about Spawn again, and he was like, let’s do it."
'He gets into a zone, with body language and a look that basically will say way more than anything i could type on a piece of paper, and this movie is going to need those moments,' he added.
'And in the odd moment where he has to deliver a line that’s short, curt and has impact, he can do it in a way that makes you go, "Whoa, I don’t want to mess with that guy. What a badass".'
McFarlane said the character will not be chatty like fellow anti-hero Deapool, but he will be heading fro a similar R-rating.
'The scariest movies, from Jaws to John Carpenter’s The Thing, or The Grudge and The Ring, the boogeyman doesn’t talk,' he said.
'It confuses people because of the comic book industry, and because they all default into their Captain America mindset and I keep saying, no, get into John Carpenter’s mindset or Hitchcock. This is not a man in a rubber suit, it’s not a hero that’s going to come and save the damsel. It’s none of that.
Last version: Michael Jai White was the last person to play Spawn in 1997, where he took on John Leguizamo as The Violator
'At the end of the movie, I’m hoping that the audience will say either, is this a ghost that turns into a man, or is it a man that turns into a ghost?'
McFarlane added that while he has a trilogy in mind, the first film will not be an origin story — which he is 'mentally exhausted' of — pointing to the recent A Quiet Place which jumps into the action on Day 89.
Michael Jai White was the last person to play Spawn in 1997, where he took on John Leguizamo as The Violator.
Bad guy: Jamie's last comic book role was as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2
