One of the few constants at San Diego Comic-Con is that Todd McFarlane will always be on hand to talk about Spawn. The hellish anti-hero recently crossed a milestone with 350 issues and has a film adaptation in the works with King Spawn, so McFarlane regaled the crowd (yours truly included) in Ballroom 20 about his future plans for Spawn comics and where the movie was headed.
First, though, McFarlane reflected on the past five years and how Comic-Con changed, particularly with COVID-19 and last year’s SAG-AFTRA/WAG strikes.
“It’s been five years, but it feels a lot shorter,” he said. He also talked about his relationship with his wife, Wanda, who was in the crowd. In a heart-melting moment, McFarlane also revealed that his wedding anniversary would be this weekend.
Talk then turned to the world of comics—specifically, Spawn’s Universe. McFarlane noted that he kept the $2.99 cover price as a sign of “loyalty” to Spawn fans and also pointed out how Rat City was taking off as it recently reached a fourth printing. (It’s well deserved, too.) There will also be an action figure of Peter Cairn coming to stores, with McFarlane showing off the prototype.
Upcoming titles include No Home Here, a Violator miniseries that will delve into the history of Spawn’s arch-foe, Deadly Tales of the Gunslinger (“A badass Western” as McFarlane described it), and two surprise titles: a She-Spawn ongoing by Gail Simone and a Freak series. McFarlane had an interesting approach to the Freak, saying, “What if the Joker became a hero instead of a villain?”
The biggest surprise came when McFarlane invited David Dastmalchian to talk further about his upcoming comic Knights VS Samurai; I was there when the book was officially announced last year, but hearing Dastmalchian speak with such passion about this project only fueled the fires of hype. “It’s a heavy metal fantasy,” Dastmalchian said, adding that he was happy for McFarlane’s mentorship since he was a huge fan of his work.
The panel closed with entertainment news, as McFarlane said he had six different TV shows in varying degrees of development. He also talked more about the King Spawn script, praising the work of screenwriters Scott Silver, Malcolm Spellman & Matt Mixon.
“They have been true to my spirit…It just has to be badass. Keep it badass, and I’m going to go along for the ride. And they have delivered a badass script that I think moviegoers worldwide who do not even know who ‘Spawn’ or Todd McFarlane is will be excited. Because we’re excited for it.”
McFarlane enthused, also saying that he was on the hunt for a director. He even pointed out how Deadpool & Wolverine could open the door to King Spawn getting made due to its immense box office forecast. (Dastmalchian even threw his hat into the ring to play Twitch.)
In closing, McFarlane urged the audience to continue to pursue their creative passions and said that he figured “five to ten years from now, someone’s going to be on that stage.”
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