McFarlane also mentioned that the success of Joker reignited interest in Spawn, as the Clown Prince of Crime origin story starring Joaquin Phoenix was a shining example of how well an R-rated comic book adaptation can perform.
Among the reasons Spawn has been taking a long time to move forward is story-related, as last winter, Todd McFarlane revealed that an unidentified individual was polishing the script before presenting it to major studios.