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When we first heard about the Spawn title change over at Blumhouse, we naturally started drawing a line between it and the comics. In case you weren't aware, the Blumhouse-produced Spawn film (based on the Spawn comics) went from being called simply 'Spawn' to 'King Spawn,' which also happens to be the name of an Image Comics Spawn title that's been running since 2021. But according to no less than Spawn's creative father, Todd McFarlane, fans shouldn't be reading into that name.

I sat down with McFarlane ahead of the release of his latest Spawn comic, Spawn '77. As we spoke about the future of McFarlane's creator-owned character, I wanted to know about the aforementioned name change, which was announced jointly by horror studio Blumhouse and McFarlane himself in July of 2024. Was there, I asked, a reason for this title switch-up?

"No," said the Image Comics cofounder, "Writers just put titles on their scripts."

While McFarlane admitted that "it wasn't a stretch" to tie the film's title to the comic of the same name, he said there was nothing going on behind the scenes of the film to have initiated the name change. That said, some other current Spawn titles - GunSlinger Spawn and Medieval Spawn, specifically - might have a little bit more to do with the creator's cinematic plans, as McFarlane has admitted to having conversations about those characters receiving their own titular films in a hypothetical future.

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is available now wherever you get your comics. Spawn '77 #1 arrives on shelves September 9.

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. If you're looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here's everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.