Spawn is (finally) getting a new movie, and the photo of the film’s script has revealed that it will be titled “King Spawn.” But to casual fans of comic book movies, Spawn may already be something of an unknown – let alone the mythos of King Spawn.
So who is King Spawn? Let’s break it down.
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King Spawn Explained
King Spawn is the name for a comic series launched in August of 2021 – the first ongoing story from the expanded Spawn universe, following the original series’ launch in 1992. It’s written by Sean Lewis with the primary artist being Javier Fernández.
The story of King Spawn takes on the larger mythos of the war between heaven and hell, as Spawn is caught up in the prophecy of King Spawn and the throne of Hell. It allowed Spawn comic series creator Todd McFarlane to bring together years of the larger mythos of the Spawn series (the throne of Hell, God Throne, and the Dead Zones, Wanda Blake’s death) into a grand epic tale of Al Simmons/Spawn having to decide where he stands in the war between ultimate good and evil, from a position of considerable power as a leader.
That storyline fits in line with what Todd McFarlane talked with ComicBook about awhile back. The Spawn creator openly admitted that the plan he touted for years had significantly changed. McFarlane had long pitched a Spawn reboot that has more of an indie-horror budget and feel; at one point the film would be centered around NYPD detectives Sam and Twitch, with Spawn himself appearing like a horror movie ghost that the cops try to catch. Instead, the updated concept for the Spawn movie was one that McFarlane made clear would draw in the biggest talent:
“My original plan has gotten tripped up a bit,” McFarlane said to ComicBook. “We’re bringing on A-list people. Not just one, but multiple A-list people… 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.”
King Spawn had plenty of otherworldly settings, characters, and concepts – but it was also set in NYC with some of the classic Spawn elements (like his nemesis The Clown). It fits perfectly in the range of what McFarlane describes: a film that’s big enough, without having to be a mega-blockbuster. The story also has a clear moral conflict for Spawn – not just a basic superhero vs villain structure. The religious-horror tropes are also exactly what are needed to distinguish a Spawn reboot in an ear where superhero movies are everywhere.
King Spawn is currently in development.
