Todd McFarlane Meeting With Various Actors For ‘Spawn’ Movie Roles

Spawn reboot writer-director Todd McFarlane has met with several actors for various roles, the filmmaker revealed on Instagram Sunday.

McFarlane was inspired to make the post after running into Mark A.Z. Dippé, director of 1997’s live-action Spawn, at the airport.

“I was in Hollywood all day Friday talking casting roles to various actors about different character roles for the #Spawn movie,” McFarlane wrote.

“SOOO…of course when I am on my plane going back home the person who gets on last and sits next to me (literally) is the guy who directed the first Spawn movie (Mark Dippe)!?!? Had not seen him in years. Weird.”

In a late January interview with ComicBook.com’s Jim Viscardi, McFarlane broke the news his reboot has begun the casting process.

“We just officially the other day had our first casting meeting, and so what that means for anyone listening today is with the final script we’re going to start sending that into Hollywood to actually go pick up the cast members,” McFarlane said.

The process involves sorting through the script’s characters and throwing names around for actors who might fit, McFarlane explained.

“More specifically, are there actors or characters you’ve seen in other movies that you think fall into that pool, because all of that gives the casting director a picture so that they can go ‘oh, okay, I know who to go after now that we’re doing it,’” he said. “So we’ve officially begun the casting process.”

Despite its title, Spawn won’t focus on its eponymous character, who will be more like the shark in Jaws, showing up “at the opportune time to make the movie worthwhile.”

A bigger role will instead be private investigator Twitch Williams, who McFarlane refers to as his “Sheriff Brody.”

Last summer, McFarlane told ComicBook.com “a couple” of Academy Award-winning actors approached him about starring in the movie.

McFarlane has yet to name who he’s met with, but previously admitted to Vulture he had Leonardo DiCaprio in mind when writing the Twitch role, saying he needs someone to “be able to go to some extremes” and express a wide variety of differing emotions.

Spawn, from producers Blumhouse (Get Out, Halloween 2018), has yet to announce a release date.