There was a time when superhero movies were all clean and wholesome and showed that the main characters were entirely above reproach. That was the world where the firstSpawnmovie came into existence. However, since that movie was made, the movies that people love so much when it comes to superheroes have changed quite a bit. The heroes that people knew can die. Sometimes they can even come back in one variety or another. And sometimes, superhero movies can be quite dark.EvenAvengers: Endgamehad the fate of the entire universe at stake, and there was quite a bit of killing when everything went down.
Now that what makes a superhero has changed quite a bit since thefirstSpawnhit theaters, it’s definitely time for the franchise to come back, and there’s a way it can do that and still stand out from other comic book movies. There is a way to make this movie feel like it’s something that can really stand out from the other movies and television shows that are all over these days. That’s to really lean into the horror aspect ofSpawn. There are few stories that are better built for that approach and it’s become rather obvious that there would be a fan base out there quite willing to see it.
RELATED:Spawn Creator Wants New Game Based on Character
Spawn Could Make Horror Superhero Films A New Genre
It’s worth pointing out that the one time a Marvel movie went anywhere near horror, fans were quite excited about it after seeing the previews. While theNew Mutantsended up beinga critical and box office failure, there was genuine excitement for what people thought was going to be a superhero movie that actually had horror elements. That in turn shows that there is an appetite for such a thing, especially in 2022 and beyond. And the good news is,Spawnis the type of material that doesn’t have to stretch very far to make a horror-themed movie.
Consider thesource material ofSpawn. A military hero ends up getting killed and betrayed by those closest to him. When he dies, he ends up going to hell, and once there, he is told that he’s meant to be the leader of hell’s army on earth. His body is transformed and warped and he’s turned into something that doesn’t really look human anymore. And he’s also given some very effective powers and abilities that make him the superhero comic book readers know well. But it isn’t much of a stretch to think that it’s not hard to take this from superhero focused to horror-focused.
One big way this could turn into something quite a bit better than the 1997version ofSpawnis that it could spend quite a bit more of a focus on the hell aspects of the story. Whether that means that the main character could spend a bit more time in hell, maybe not realizing where he is and having to find out the hard way, or hell actually getting onto earth in new and spooky ways. There really is quite a bit to work with when it comes to this approach.
There is a reason, by the way, why Violator (played by John Leguizamo in the original film is such a popular character in the Spawn universe. While the creature is actually a horrible alien-looking demon, he often takes the form of a mutant clown. That’s spooky enough as has beendemonstrated plenty by Pennywise the Clowndepictions from Stephen King’s book,It. Of course, Violator in the first Spawn movie was more goofy than anything else, but there’s certainly a way to make him actually menacing and even scary. Of course, in order to do that, Spawn would have to be willing to go places that no other superhero movie has really gone so far.
Embrace the Darkness of Spawn
While it sounds likeSpawnisgoing to be moreAvengersthan a good horror movie on the character has any chance of being, there is still hope that the reason that writers for both the more staid superhero movies and people fromJokerare joining forces is to find that happy medium. The fact of the matter is that the source material is darker than most other comics. There are people dying and hell beasts coming up from down under all the time. That needs to be part of the new movie.
Demons and monsters always make pretty good source material for when it comes to horror movies, but the bottom line is that there needs to feel like there’s something really at stake here.Even inEnd Game, most of the people who died were either the bad guys, people who actually came back, or who were giving their lives in the service of something (see, Tony Stark.) In order to be a real horror movie, there has to be a danger to people who aren’t in the middle of things. Who aren’t heroes fighting to save the day. Innocents have to be put in danger.
In order to really make people worried about what’s going on, and make people worried about who will live and who will die,Spawnneeds to besomewhat likeThe Boys. There needs to be an understanding that any character, known or now well known can be in danger of dying at any moment. There also needs to be the fact that while everyone knows that everyone is on the hook, some of those deaths are going to come out of nowhere. Whether that’s Violator attacking without warning or another demon killing someone close to Spawn or however the movie wants to pull it off.
The thing that makesThe Boysthe best, when it’s at the top of its game, is that characters people thought weren’t in danger are suddenly dead.Spawnneeds to find a way to make a movie like that, ensure that characters the audience likes or sees as innocent, are going to get caught in the crossfire. Then it can truly embrace the horror genre and set itself apart from other superhero films.
