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Todd McFarlane's Plans for a New Spawn Animated Series

Todd McFarlane provides some information on the new animated Spawn series.
MTV recently spoke with Todd McFarlane and he gave insight on the future of "Spawn" in animated form. It seems the series will begin production in 2010.

"I had a lot of people saying they loved the animated series more than the movie, because the movie was PG-13 and HBO wasn't shy about going into the R range with the series," said McFarlane of contrast between the 1997 "Spawn" movie starring Michael Jae White and the 1997-1999 animated series which cast Keith David as the voice of Spawn.

Spawn's animated series came to a halt due to legal matters and with the situation coming to an end legally, Todd wishes to bring back to life our beloved Hellspawn.

"We developed another 85-minute, movie-length storyline, but things got complicated near the end and there were some legal issues, so it got frozen because of that. Recently, we were able to come to a compromise where everybody is happy. As a result of that, at the end of this year—as long as both parties do what they're supposed to—then all the rights come back to me. Not only do I get the rights, but I get all the work that was done," he added. "And the work is fairly extensive, " explained McFarlane.

This 85-minute storyline he speaks of is pretty far along by the way because he has the back-story, character designs as well as voice recording completed.

McFarlane wants the animated series to have a connection with the live action "Spawn" movie he has in mind to be released much later on.

"The animated series has a lot of the same dark sensibilities as the movie I've talked about. This animated story is fairly compatible with the ideas I talked about with the movie. They would go hand-in-hand fairly well," said McFarlane.

When asked when we would hear more about the expected animated series, McFarlane wasn't shy on releasing an answer.

"Arguably, January 2 I can go into Hollywood and start knocking on doors," said McFarlane




I'm looking forward to the animated series
4 Yes
0 No
Whispers68
10/13/2009
Splashpage/mtv.com

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46 Comments

I cant wait.I have the original animated series on DVD but I have yet to see it,and now it's all scratched up from borrowers hope it sill works
InSpace - 10/13/2009, 2:20 PM
oh and first
InSpace - 10/13/2009, 2:21 PM
Whatever happened to Spawn Animated?I've been waiting for that since 2005.
kenny38606 - 10/13/2009, 2:34 PM
InSpace your SECOND!! : P

An cool this and the LIVE ACTION Movie, things are looking up for SPAWNY!!!
LEEE777 - 10/13/2009, 3:08 PM
I was never a huge fan of the comic, but the cartoon was crazy, and every kid I knew loved the action figures. I always just thought that the plots in the comics felt tired though, especially in comparison to Mignola's own hellspawn: Hellboy.
thwhtGuardian - 10/13/2009, 3:51 PM
LUFFY @ WTF?? what about BLACK PANTHER, STORM, BLACK LIGHTNING, etc etc, i could go on lol.
LEEE777 - 10/13/2009, 4:28 PM
LEEE he said "cool" black super heroes. Lol, just kidding. Spawn has never really seemed like a black man to me. In fact,most black characters in comics dont seem written like they are actual black people.
Betty - 10/13/2009, 4:35 PM
"LEEE he said "cool" black super heroes. Lol, just kidding. Spawn has never really seemed like a black man to me. In fact,most black characters in comics dont seem written like they are actual black people."

What exactly is your definition of a black person?Are you saying they weren't "ghetto" enough?
kenny38606 - 10/13/2009, 4:42 PM
C'mon Kenny

Lets not pretend you didn't understand what he meant.

A bad-ass, hell bent for leather, government stone killer BLACK man like Al should not be written to sound like Carlton from Fresh Prince.
BillyBlack - 10/13/2009, 4:49 PM



Good times :)
teabag - 10/13/2009, 5:15 PM
It's true, except for luke cage during civil war and the Ultimate Black Panther, black heroes seem to be rather neutral in their stories. Almost like it's just a coincidence that they are black. Missing is any sense of the black voice, and I don't mean that they don't talk like they're from the ghetto, I mean voice in the narrative sense. Their stories just seem arbitrary and hollow, and rarely speak to social issues that stem from being different.
I think really it stems from the fact that comic writers are white and cannot adopt the narrative voice necessary to write stories outside of their own ethnicity.
thwhtGuardian - 10/13/2009, 5:20 PM
Or maybe there doesnt need to be a divide between cultures .....why does a black character have to speak about social or cultural differances...cant we all just get along..lol :P

Plus Blade in the 70's was way too strong and came of unlikable with the whole race issue :)
teabag - 10/13/2009, 5:32 PM
yeah, it can be overbearing at times, but sometimes characters are so neutral that it just seems like bad writing, like black lightning, if his skin color were different it wouldn't affect his character at all, however if you were to make a character like luke cage whit or asian or latin it would cease to be luke cage.
thwhtGuardian - 10/13/2009, 5:39 PM
"Or maybe there doesnt need to be a divide between cultures .....why does a black character have to speak about social or cultural differances...cant we all just get along"

That's what I'd prefer.I want my black heroes to be written as neutral, and not "overly hip", as some tend to write them.White heroes don't focus on white issues, white culture or being white.They just focus on fighting bad guys.That's how all heores should be.Yeah, it's cool to incorporate some culture into it, but not so much that it's inaccessible to most readers.You can write them in a way that they are discernible from white characters, but not so much as they become hip hop cliches.
kenny38606 - 10/13/2009, 5:42 PM
Now where knocking on black people? I knew this site was racist...
Minotauro - 10/13/2009, 5:52 PM
What! He was making a statement. A valid one at that. Chill Mino.
SirPrize - 10/13/2009, 6:20 PM
Mino@ WTF....!!! ;( bad boy.....is this cus we dont show enough Blue people? :P
teabag - 10/13/2009, 6:20 PM
I feel green
StrangemannX09 - 10/13/2009, 7:03 PM
Perhaps minotauro is playing around.

I for one don't see a need to create any further division by expanding on social differences for black heroes, white heroes, green heroes, etc. There's already enough division in both plain and hidden sight with the existing stereotypes in our society. The African American community supposedly only speak with a ghetto lingo, the second he/she doesn't they're said to be acting white. Caucasians are supposed to refrain from hip-hop music but the second they put on a Jay-Z record, they're acting black. Asians are supposed to be advanced in math/science but if you find out they aren't, for some reason you become shocked. Stereotypes are rather disgusting

Let's leave the awful divisions in society...comic books don't need the shames of society to pass over into the medium.
Whispers68 - 10/13/2009, 7:49 PM
Well said Whispers!
icebergslick - 10/13/2009, 9:12 PM
I meant that they never seem to have a personality. It's like whoever is writing the character rides the fence as far as personality or dialogue so they don't have to make those "touchy" decisions. They don't want to get into any discussions about the definition of a black person or be accused of making "Blacksploitation"-like characters. I think this is a mistake on the creators side because I feel like I never get know any black comic book characters. Since I don't get into the story and identify with the character, I stop buying the comic. Black Panther is about the only one I can think of that has a personality and some depth to his character. Oh and the Black Panther from the new exiles. He has a very believable, young, confidant personality without being overly "hip". He is a smart ass but still a bad ass. Hmmm, I need to go back and read those again and see how the writer did that.
Betty - 10/13/2009, 9:24 PM
that's what I was talking about too betty
thwhtGuardian - 10/13/2009, 11:42 PM
Maybe "White Heroes" do need to start focusing on "White" issues(stop trying to save the Universe and start trying to save your Karma/Cosmis Reputation).... honestly the global self entitlement of Magneto and Lex Luthor and such... why not adress the issues of Raping Lands and Pillaging Peoples. (Thanks Dusty Bottoms!) Really...... Lets engage the all out atrocities of the creation of the "America's" and see if Comics can actually be used to sway world opinion once again. or just keep blowing up Wolverine and Killing of Second Tier Characters for the rest of Eternia for all i care.

White Power!

Sincerely,
Tyrone Biggums
shibazz - 10/14/2009, 1:43 AM
luffy- Take those Goddamn dragonballs videos and f**king shove them up your ass already!!!
ASSASSIN666 - 10/14/2009, 3:33 AM
Spawn has always been OK in my book,
however,

I have visions of a Dead Horse being Flogged.
Skyh00k - 10/14/2009, 4:56 AM
so how is it that todd mcfarlane has more legal problems than OJ Simpson?
CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 5:31 AM
CDB- Cause Todd's innocent.
Shaman - 10/14/2009, 8:12 AM
True. Some greedy bastard saw an opportunity to make a lot of money off of spawn so he decided to ruin the franchise for millions of fans for his own benefit. I mean, Spawn kills some mobster in the comics who happens to have the same nickname as a real person, and all of the sudden, the real person is having nightmares of a demon killing him? (I believe thats how it went) Riiiiight. I think the biggest travesty is that he actually won in court, and Todd has to pay this asshole.
Shadowelfz - 10/14/2009, 8:46 AM
ha...only in America..lol
teabag - 10/14/2009, 9:08 AM
well said tyrone biggums... or shibazz... whichever.

@betty, the reason black panther has personality and depth is cause its written by reginald hudlin, CEO (or president cant remeber which one or if theirs a difference) of BET. he doesn't have to ride the fence. I didn't even realize until I noticed he also helps produce the boondocks, and they bring that up in one episode.

on tothe matter at hand, Spawn. I loved the animated HBO series, got it on dvd. so I'm all for another one.

and to whoever said the cartoon was way better than the comics.. have you ever read the first few arcs? cause from what I remember it was pretty much spot on. almost exactly the same.
ThoroughbredSteele0 - 10/14/2009, 10:16 AM
The best ever Spawn experience is The SNES game!!!
Shaman - 10/14/2009, 10:43 AM
ha...only in Britain..Lol :D
Minotauro - 10/14/2009, 10:55 AM
You know, I never liked Spawn. Not because it's not a good character, but because I met McFarlane back when he was doing Spider-man and he acted like a douche. Now, he could have just been having a bad day, and that encounter might not be at all representative of the kind of guy he is, but nevertheless I couldn't bring myself to pay money for his books after that.
Velox - 10/14/2009, 11:00 AM
@ shadowelfz

mcfarlane didn't just happen to give his character the same nickname as a hockey player. he's admitted that everyone he created in the spawn universe was a real life character. the wife is todd's wife, simmons' best friend is todd's best friend in real life. Tony Twist, is named after a hockey player of the same name. even simmons' dog is named after todd's dog for christ's sake. i know i know, "whats the big deal?" and i agree, its fine to use names of people that are your friends if they say its cool. but you can't go around using people's names and likenesses without their permission. its that simple. and thats what todd did. with tony twist. i believe the hockey players name is Tony "Twist" Twisterelli, or something along those lines. also, the real tony twist never claimed to have demonic nightmares because of this.
CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 11:12 AM
but who knows, i guess i'm just a todd mcfarlane hater since he nearly killed the entire comics industry in the 90's.
CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 11:14 AM
How did he nearly do that???
Shaman - 10/14/2009, 11:27 AM
@Corndog: What? Do you somehow blame him for Liefeld?
Velox - 10/14/2009, 11:32 AM
haha maybe your right, CDB. The person who told me the story was a spawn fanatic so maybe his interpretation was a bit... askew. Still, it may have not been cool for Todd to use 'Twists' name without his permission (he is an avid sports fan so I'm guessing he did it as part of a tribute but I can be wrong), but did he have to sue for MILLIONS of dollars for it? Couldn't they have settled for something a bit more reasonbable? That lawsuit nearly killed off the spawn line.
Shadowelfz - 10/14/2009, 11:37 AM
Mino@ that makes no sense..lmao :P
teabag - 10/14/2009, 12:09 PM
@ shadowelfz

lol, no he didn't need to do that, and you're right, it was a tribute, because he was mcfarlane's favorite hockey player. so yes, the lawsuit was a little ridiculous.

@ velox

lol, no, i blame liefeld's mother for that mistake, lol.

@ shaman

it wasn't necessarily him, more like all the people that created image with him. so its harsh to blame it solely on todd, but they almost caused the downfall of marvel, and the comics industry in general, because as much as we all like "creator owned" properties, and it probably is better for the actual writers/artists to have control over their created properties, but they were taking huge business away from the big two ( marvel/DC) which are the back bone of the industry.
CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 1:43 PM
@ shaman

also this was when all the companies were starting to do all the variant and special covers, but they were printing the same amounts of all these specialty covers. which means that they weren't selling NEARLY as many copies of each issue as they were printing. meaning they were wasting a TON of money on every issue they printed. that didn't help things either. but it was all in the name of competition.
CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 1:47 PM
Damn, I missed all this! You guys are hilarious.

Shibazz-- Ring Ring... hello? Ring Ring... hello?
Betty - 10/14/2009, 5:32 PM
CorndogBurglar- Dude, i get your point about the variant covers cause THAT sucked, but saying that Image was the reason behind the downfall of Marvel and DC is rubish. It would be like saying that painters shouldn't exist in our day and age cause it takes away some of The Mona Lisa's value away. The only reason why Marvel ever got that close to bankruptcy was on account of bad management, PERIOD. They had bad stories for the majority of their characters and shitty art. In lamens terms, they sucked ass. DC didn't seem to feel the blow as much cause their caliber never whent down. Any comic fan that was collecting Image and not Marvel was cause their books sucked and i know cause i was one of them. All the hard core Marvel fans i knew kept on collecting even thow they picked up the odd issue of Spawn, Supreme and Savage Dragon once in a while. It was good business for everyone. If Marvel had better books than Image, then Image wouldn't even exist today or hardly. Don't blame Image for Marvel's mistakes. Blame Canada!!! Hey wait a minute...
Shaman - 10/15/2009, 9:04 AM
@Tea - I know. I was just being a D-B!! :D
Minotauro - 10/15/2009, 11:21 AM
all i can say is..........when the [frick] is this [frick]ing thing coming the [frick] out for [frick]ing [frick]s [frick]ing sake? i mean [frick]. the only thing i care about right now. i want this [frick]ing shit right [frick]ing now! [frick] [frick]ity [frick] [frick] [frick].
ganja420 - 1/15/2010, 12:15 PM
sorry for the gratuitous swearing in that last comment.....the hbo spawn is wearing off on me.
ganja420 - 1/15/2010, 12:18 PM

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