As versatile as Foxx seems to be these days, there are still projects he’s trying to make happen, including an adaptation of the comic character Spawn, as well as a biopic about Mike Tyson. “Spawn is one, yeah. And Mike Tyson. Those are two roles I would just love to do. I’m aggressively pursuing them,” he told us.

Words from an interview Jamie Foxx did with Movies.com at this year;s Comic-Con. 

I was aware of his intent to play Mike Tyson in a biopic on the retired boxer’s life (it’s been in conversation for a few years now). But, that he’s “aggressively pursuing” Spawn is news to me. I wasn’t even aware that he was interested in playing the character.

Does Michael Jai White know? I wonder if they’ve talked about it.

For a few years now, creator Todd McFarlane has been working on and pushing for a reboot of Spawn, which was adapted into a 1997 feature film, starring Michael Jai White (reviews were mixed, though I liked it; not sure how well it holds up today though).

But, as we reported in mid-2011, McFarlane’s insistence on producing a property (whether it’s another film, or a cable TV series, live action, or animated) that “will absolutely be for mature audiences only” hasn’t made progress on the reboot easy.

As he told MTV over 2 years ago:

“We’re going to a cable network, and that’s their bread and butter… They want stuff that isn’t what you can find on ABC, NBC and CBS. They’ve covered that field. We have now an area where we can actually do shows that get a little grittier, a little darker, a little more risque.”

If you’ve been following the undead superhero series, you’ll likely know that McFarlane promised back in 2009 that it would indeed be returning as an animated series, though that never happened.

Skip ahead to Comic-Con in 2011, while on a panel for Black Dynamite, the animated series, Spawn star Michael Jai White shared the following:

“I hope he [McFarlane] does [make the film]. In the next couple years I might have to produce it myself. It’s a no-brainer. Look at how these movies have done, superhero movies that have gone dark, and there hasn’t been one darker than Spawn. If we do it like we want to, it could be a game changer. I think Todd feels the same way as me – that we go R. Not a kinder, gentler Spawn, we go straight R – like pushing it, pushing NC-17. Give the fans what they expect. That edge brought [the comic book] to where it is. I would really like to show what that character can be.”

So, clearly Michael wants to do it, and here he talks about a film, not a TV series. And he certainly prefers McFarlane’s darker, grittier, risque ideas. So do I, I must say.

Whether or not he still wants to do it, 2 years after that revelation at Comic-Con 2011, I can’t say. I’m hoping I can get a reply from him on it, as well as whether he’s aware that Jamie Foxx is actively pursuing the role as well.

But will we see a Spawn reboot – specifically the hard-R/NC-17 version White and McFarlane seem most interested in making? Who knows! Though I love Michael’s attitude about the whole thing – especially when he says he might have to produce it himself if the studios don’t move on it.

By. Any. Means. Necessary.

But it’s 2 years later, and no word on that front.

Jamie Foxx as Spawn – thoughts?

Let’s see how this shakes out… If I can get anything further on this, I’ll let you know.