Iconic Spawn Actor Keith David Addresses Possible Return for a Reboot [Exclusive]

The Spawn movie reboot is something fans have been waiting decades for, with creator Todd McFarlane forever championing the project’s development. As of writing this, the live-action Spawn movie is still (stuck) somewhere in the developmental pipeline; however, Spawn didn’t just gain mainstream fame because of the 1997 live-action film; that same year, an HBO animated series, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, also hit the airwaves.

The animated version of Spawn became a cult hit that has arguably stood the test of time even better than the live-action film. Part of the reason for that was the voice cast of the animated show, led by the baritone gravitas of actor Keith David as Lt. Col. Al Simmons/Spawn. David’s version of Spawn was so commanding that his voice is the character’s in many fans’ minds, even when they read the comics. And since voice acting doesn’t carry the same term limits that movie actors face, Keith David’s return as Spawn is still very much on the table.

Keith David Addresses Possible Spawn Return

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ComicBook’s Chris Killian recently interviewed Keith David for his new Amazon Prime Video series, The Gray House. Being ComicBook, we had to ask David about how he personally feels about ever making a return as the voice of Spawn.

“In a New York heartbeat!… People love that character. And especially in the animated series,” David answered. Knowing how the modern press cycle works, the actor even went a step further, stating that if fans consider him the voice of Spawn, they should let producers know: “Make sure you tell them that when they start trying to reboot it.”

This isn’t the first time that Keith David has pledged his commitment to Spawn. Over the last (nearly) thirty years, he’s consistently maintained that he has more Spawn vocal performances to give, if only HBO would commit to more seasons of the animated series. The show only ran for three seasons (eighteen episodes) between 1997 and 1999. “His life was cut off too short,” David recalled. “It’s too bad someone didn’t have the foresight to keep it going, because I believe it would still be going. Yeah. So many great stories.”

He certainly has a point: Todd McFarlane’s Spawn comic book has been ongoing since 1992, and has spawned (no pun) an entire franchise universe of supernatural cosmic mystic lore. The Spawn animated series would’ve been able to keep feeding off comic content for years, and would’ve further cemented itself as an early pioneer in adult-themed animation alongside South Park, long before the days of Invincible, DC’s Harley Quinn, or Amazon Prime Video’s Hazbin Hotel.

Of course, it’s always better to be late than to never do it: Keith David is still with us, and so is the chance for HBO to do more animated Spawn. Let us know if you’d want it happen over on the Comicbook Forum!