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During the near decade that it's ben in development, there have been a host of changes to Todd McFarlane's Spawn movie, AKA King Spawn. There's been a title change, casting change-ups, and a long list of potential release windows pushed back. But something that's been with the film since it got off the ground, idea-wise, was the actor behind the titular role: that is, Jamie Foxx as Al Simmons. With that kind of commitment to a project, you might wonder what it was that nabbed Foxx the role in the first place...

Or at least, I did, so I asked Todd McFarlane himself about it.

The Spawn creator and Image Comics cofounder and I recently sat down to discuss his upcoming entry into Spawn's comic world, the three-part Spawn '77 miniseries. But with a focus toward the franchise's future, I naturally wanted to know a little bit about where the developing movie was, and thankfully, McFarlane was willing to discuss certain topics with me. First on deck: how did Jamie Foxx earn the cape and chains? 

"Jamie and I go way back," McFarlane told me, "How many years ago now? 15 years, maybe. He was the top of his game; he flew to my office and he said, 'Hey, I want to pitch you on Spawn.' I didn't go for his pitch; I thought it was kind of too obvious, too on the nose, but I never forgot that. Here's a big shot, and he phoned me personally - not his agent, not his manager - and said, 'Hey, I'm going to get on the plane. I'm going to come see you.'"

The comics legend went on to explain that, even though Foxx's idea didn't work for him, he still made the actor a promise that "'If we ever start moving forward doing anything, I'll put you at the top of the list, because I appreciate you coming out.'"

"And he's just a hell of a talent, too," McFarlane added.

Cut to several years later, after the producer of hits like Five Nights at Freddy's decided to foot the bill for McFarlane's cinematic vision.

"When we started developing it," the writer/artist told me, "And I brought Jason Blum and Blumhouse on board, I said, 'I think I can get Jamie Foxx. And Jason, who was doing a lot of low-budget stuff at that point was like, 'Todd, you can't get Jamie Foxx. He's out of your league.' And I'm like, 'I don't know, I'm going to go ask, right?' Within five minutes, Jamie was like, 'Oh man, Todd? I'm wondering when you were going to call me.'"

Can't say no to that kind of enthusiasm. 

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is available now wherever you get your comics. Todd McFarlane's Spawn, the movie, is also available now.

Interested? Here's where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here's a guide to how (and where) to read comics online.