Todd McFarlane’s long-awaited Spawn movie will be R-rated and the first draft of its "badass" script is already complete

Spawn creator Todd MacFarlane says the script for the live-action feature-length adaptation is complete – and with an R-rating in tow.

"The first draft of the screenplay is done. There's an R-rated script that exists. We have been waiting a long time. We've created a script that creates its own version of Spawn for the screen," McFarlane shared during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. The next step is finding a director for the long-awaited pic. "They have been true to my spirit. They delivered a badass movie script."

Just before SDCC kicked off, producer Jason Blum posted the first page of the script to his social media accounts, revealing the title of the film as King Spawn. King Spawn is an ongoing comic book series that launched back in 2021, featuring the original Spawn, Al Simmons, and follows his journey as he finally finds his place in the war between Heaven and Hell as a leader.

"We need to do R-rated Hollywood comic movies," McFarlane added, noting that he was inspired by Deadpool and Wolverine and Joker: Folie a Deux. The first live-action Spawn movie hit theaters in 1997 and was given a toned-down PG-13 rating – which was confusing for fans (much like myself) given that the comic is more or less known for its ultra-violence – and received largely negative reviews.

King Spawn does not yet have a release date, though Blum did mention a possible 2025 release date. For more movie news, Keep tabs on Comic-Con with our SDCC 2024 live blog and SDCC 2024 schedule.