We’ve known for a little while now that Todd McFarlane was planning to direct his own big-screen take on one of his most famous creations, Spawn. And now comes word on who’ll be playing this most iconic of characters.

As per Deadline, Jamie Foxx has officially signed on to tackle the title role in McFarlane’s Spawn. In addition to this, McFarlane has also now confirmed that this will be the first in a trilogy of films and that this reboot will not feature an origin story for its titular antihero. Foxx, of course, is likely best known for the likes of Ray, Collateral, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Django Unchained and Baby Driver.

On this news, McFarlane enthused, “Jamie came to my office five years ago, and he had an idea about Spawn and we talked about it. I never forgot him, and when I was writing this script, you sort of plug people in, and he was my visual guy and I never let go of him. When I got done and my agents and everybody was talking about what actor, I said, ‘I’m going to Jamie first and until he says no I don’t want to think about anyone else because I’ve never had anyone else in my head.’ Luckily, he hadn’t forgotten either. I said, ‘Hey, I’m back to talk about Spawn again,’ and he was like, ‘Let’s do it!’”

Foxx himself added, “A few years back, I flew out to Arizona to meet the man behind one of the most incredible comic book characters in the universe, Todd McFarlane. He was taken aback when I told him with the enthusiasm of a young child that more than anything I wanted to put my name in the hat to embody his beloved character, Spawn. I told him no one would work harder than me if given the opportunity. Well, the opportunity is here! I’m humbled and ready to transform. And to top things off, the young Jason Blum is lending his brilliance to the project! Time to be great!!!”

Back in October of last year, McFarlane confirmed that he would be directing and that the movie would be a relatively low budget affair, with $10 million the budget that was mooted at that time. As alluded to by Jamie Foxx, Jason Blum and Blumhouse will be producing the picture.

As for Spawn as a character, he first appeared back in 1992 when he headlined McFarlane’s Spawn #1. A dark and brutal character who was so often deemed an antihero, Spawn quickly became a cult favourite and was often cited as one of the poster boys of the darker books of the day. In terms of powers, his Hellspawn abilities allow him to shape-shift, teleport and get all kinds of nasty with a vast array of weapons.

This won’t be the first cinematic outing for Spawn, for Michael Jai White starred as the character in 1997’s dud Spawn. Here’s hoping this next big screen adventure for this hugely popular character is at least far superior to that balls-up. Given Todd McFarlane’s enthusiasm and passion, and Jamie Foxx’s impressive credentials (the god-awful Amazing Spider-Man 2 withstanding!), this could turn out to be something quite special if all goes according to plan.

Expect more on Spawn as it continues to develop.