THE WALKING DEAD’s Greg Nicotero Will Bring SPAWN To Life

It's been a while since we heard anything on Todd McFarlane's Spawn, but today brings us an interesting update: according to The Hollywood Reporter, VFX mastermind Greg Nicotero and his KNB EFX Group, perhaps best known for their ongoing work on AMC's The Walking Dead, have been hired to design the look of the new Spawn.

Spawn, as you know, tells the story of Al Simmons, a black-ops soldier who dies, goes to Hell, and ends up making a deal with the devil in order to return to Earth. Upon signing his contract, Spawn is whisked back to the real world, only to discover that five years have passed, his wife is remarried, and now he's carrying around ninety pounds of chains at all times, like an absolute chump. This makes him so angry that he starts fighting crime, and then there's an evil clown monster named The Violator (look, it's been a while since I read Spawn).

Amusingly, this won't be the first time Nicotero and company have crossed paths with McFarlane's most famous creation: they previously worked on the 1997 iteration of Spawn, which...uh...didn't have the best-looking special effects we've ever seen, but whatcanyado? It was 1997. We were all so young then. So full of hope. So much more forgiving. 

Says director Todd McFarlane:

“I'm a long-time fan of Greg’s work and the projects his company, KNB have done throughout the years. Working with him once again, to re-invent the Spawn 'look' so it will match the supernatural theme in the movie, is going to be a fun process.” 

This new Spawn represents McFarlane's directorial debut, and is being made on a modest budget for the folks at Blumhouse, who clearly have their sights set on a potential franchise. Jamie Foxx is starring in the titular role, and he'll be joined by Jeremy Renner, playing a character by the name of Twitch. 

Nothing further to report at this time, but stay tuned for more on Spawn as further updates become available.