We’ve known that 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 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” isn’t making progress easy.

As he told MTV last fall, “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.

Fast-forward to today, while on a panel at the ongoing Comic-Con in San Diego, for Black Dynamite, the animated series, Spawn star Michael Jai White shared the following:

“I hope he 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.

But will it happen? Who knows! Though I love Michael’s attitude about the whole thing – especially when he says he might have to produce it himself in the next couple of years if the studios don’t move on it.

By. Any. Means. Necessary.

Let’s see how this shakes out…

[CBR]