Todd McFarlane has repeatedly told fans that Spawn merits a hard R-rated reboot, and with the success of Logan and Deadpool, there really couldn't have been a better time for this movie to happen. But does this mean that we can expect a movie similar to Deadpool?

The answer to that is no. McFarlane told those present at New York Comic Con that moviegoers shouldn't expect a rating based on “F-bombs and some bare asses”. Instead, he’s going for a hard-R, as befits a creature from hell:

It's going to be dark. I will have a shark in black water, and if you're swimming, he will come and you'll be gone and he will f**k you up (via Comic Book).

McFarlane also talked about his relationship with Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, reiterating that all the studio needs to do is distribute the film:

The only things we need from them are distribution and marketing. We don't need your input, we don't need your cash, we don't need your creativity – and they don't like those deals. They always want the budget to go up, because then they have to put money in it, and then they own it.

There’s more! According to McFarlane, principal photography for Spawn is to begin in February 2018. With just a couple of months left in 2017, he’ll have to begin his cast and location searches as soon as possible.

That last bit of info indicates that Spawn is likely to be released sometime in 2019, although no official announcement has been made to that effect.