What Is 'King Spawn'? The Latest Spawn Movie Reboot & Its Plot, Explained

Plenty of comic book heroes have had to go through hell to get their time on the big screen and none more so than Albert Francis "Al" Simmons aka Spawn. Created by Todd McFarlane and debuting in 1992, this green-eyed anti-hero of the underworld on a mission of redemption has had a tumultuous history with Hollywood and is now closer to the big screen than ever for a second run. According to McFarlane and Blumhouse head Jason Blum, the long-gestating project is called "King Spawn," as revealed by a picture of a screenplay that both posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. But what will this proposed story about Simmons' dark delivery of justice entail and who has been chosen to take up the iconic chains and flowing red cape to bring it to life?

First of all, don't be fooled as the royal title isn't just some throwaway add-on, but a core chapter in the history of Spawn's saga set between heaven, hell, and the unfortunate souls caught in the middle. Adapting such an endeavor is going to take talent, though, and we can only pray that the names that have been circling Spawn's world for years are still willing to stick around. But just how long a task is it to bring Simmons' demonic do-gooder to the land of the living? Well, thanks to the first attempt at delivering such a sinful effort, around 27 years.

Deemed a hot property after his arrival on the comic book scene in 1992, it took just five years for Spawn to get the cinematic treatment only for the film to become one of the worst superhero movies ever made, with a 17% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. To his credit, Michael Jai White gives it his all in the titular role with an unrecognizable John Leguizamo switching to maniacal mode as his twisted enemy, Clown. However, the hellish special effects and wonky story weren't enough for the film to stand the test of time. The superhero genre was still in its infancy at this point, with "Batman" being the only big contender to show how it could work, leaving "Spawn" to demonstrate how it absolutely shouldn't.

The film still had its highlights, though. White became the first African American actor to portray a comic book superhero in a blockbuster movie, doing so ahead of Anthony Mackie's Falcon, Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, and even Wesley Snipes' Blade. Also, while some of the special effects were diabolical in all the wrong ways, the design of Spawn himself was a solid one. Those glowing green eyes and unmistakable black and white body still stand out from the crowd and prove that now more than ever, there's space for an anti-hero that looks this cool to be given a second life in a movie landscape where superheroes are as dominant as ever.

Two decades almost passed without a creak heard from the fiery gates Spawn had been sent to after his dire first effort. Even "Spawn" supporters had been pushing for his return by way of the 2014 short movie "Spawn: The Recall" — a fan film that looked better than some big blockbusters at the time. Then, in 2015, Todd McFarlane believed his terrifying hero was worth another shot and announced that a new movie project was underway. At a time when Marvel Studios was already into its second phase of expanding its cinematic universe, and the DC Extended Universe was, well, trying, it felt like the perfect time for Spawn to stretch his never-ending cape out again, if only for a few wrinkles that were found in it.

Within a year of his announcement, McFarlane had revealed he had completed a draft of the script with plans to embark upon his directorial debut. In 2017, a match made in heaven (or the other place) was announced when horror studio Blumhouse picked up the project, almost reassuring fans that this wasn't going to be your typical superhero movie. Scares were a surefire thing, but this was followed by stops and starts with promises of the "Spawn" reboot to start filming in February the same year. Unfortunately, that wouldn't come to pass, but it was in 2018 that the project gained some extra star power, showing just how serious both Blumhouse and McFarlane were about Spawn's comeback.

One of the biggest game-changers in the timeline of this second round with "Spawn" was when Jamie Foxx officially signed on for the coveted titular role in 2018 after openly expressing his interest in the character even before he got the call. Things began to pick up more steam when Jeremy Renner joined the "Spawn" cast as Twitch Williams, a city cop who was revealed to be the film's lead character and hunting Foxx's feared anti-hero. This backed up McFarlane's previous comparison of this take on Spawn being a lot like the shark in "Jaws" and Twitch –- a character who had been in the "Spawn" comics since issue #1 –- being the Chief Brody of the piece.

Unfortunately, developments halted and progressed very little for a number of reasons. Besides encountering issues like COVID and the SAG-AFRA strike, both stars experienced serious health problems that understandably created issues. Foxx was hospitalized in April 2023 with an experience that he described as sending him to "hell and back," while Renner only a month earlier had a near-death experience that put him on a road to recovery before returning to acting. Since then, neither has provided any updates on their involvement in "Spawn," and that was even before he earned his kingly status. Now six years on, will either be willing to continue, and will the story be enough to keep them and even fans interested?

While the image of seeing Spawn rocking a shiny crown while dishing out a dark dose of justice sounds awesome, "King Spawn" actually has ties to the lengthy comic book series. Released in 2021, and co-written by Sean Lewis and Todd McFarlane, "King Spawn" sees the titular terror to evil forces facing an old foe who is corrupting souls and causing chaos on Earth in the process. Beginning with an attack on a school, Spawn sets about taking on this forgotten enemy, with Twitch lending a hand in the battle between demonic forces. 

If the film really is taken from the pages of the "King Spawn" comic book series, it marks a brave move for Todd McFarlane in a story that hits the ground running. This isn't an origin story, but a tale that drops us well into Simmons' time as the Hellspawn with a variety of other allies and enemies involved in the action. Crammed with cults and corrupt angels cooperating with devilish folk, it's a big world to drop into but one that could still work, if the new film really is taking story beats from the 38-issue series. But with such an epic chapter in "Spawn" history and very little development besides two names linked to it but not set in stone, just when can we expect "King Spawn" to take the throne in theaters?

There really is no confirmation on just how much longer we're going to have to wait for "King Spawn" to arrive, as there's no official release date yet. The current script was penned by Scott Spellman and Matthew Mixon, former Marvel and DC movie scribes who were snagged in 2022, following on from the comic creator's idea coming to fruition. With that kind of talent involved, you'd imagine the Hellspawn's anticipated outing might be a blockbuster-level event. However, McFarlane's comments from last year suggest it's in a very different sweet spot that could therefore make production get going quicker than expected.

"We're bringing on A-list people. Not just one, but multiple A-list people," McFarlane told ComicBook.com in 2023. "What they're not going to want is to do a cheap, low-budget movie with all of these big-name people on it. That's not why they're signing up. They're not looking for a big extravaganza. But, they're also not looking for an 8 million dollar horror movie budget." Hopefully, that route is still one being taken in getting "King Spawn" in theaters, capitalizing from two movie genres (superhero and horror) that have continued to thrive. When the chains finally do come loose on "Spawn" it could spark a hybrid of a movie we didn't know we needed. 

As for fans of the comic book series, well, their prayers might've finally been answered and it only took three decades for them to be heard.