Jeremy Renner Joins Blumhouse’s ‘Spawn’ Reboot Cast

Following Jeremy Renner’s impressive stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hawkeye/Clint Barton, the actor is set to join another big screen comic book universe—this time in a grittier and darker reboot of Todd MacFarlane’s Spawn. Renner has been cast as Detective Twitch Williams in the reboot, according to Deadline.

“As a first time director, I wanted to surround myself with the most talent and the most skilled people I can on all fronts,” MacFarlane said in an interview with the outfit. “I was lucky enough to land Jason Blum and then Jamie Foxx, and I knew the person on screen the most is this police officer, Twitch Williams. We needed as strong a person as possible because he will be the face of the film.”

MacFarlane also added that Renner was at the top of his list. Since Twitch doesn’t have to be a muscular person, Renner fits the profile of someone “who’s a person you’ve met before” and “who can pull off the grief of an average human being.”

In May, Foxx was given the titular role of the demonic superhero, following reports of MacFarlane being on board to direct Spawn as well (this would be the comic book creator’s directorial debut). In the comics, Spawn started out as CIA Black Ops Team member Al Simmons. Al was then betrayed by his teammates and was sent to his death via immolation. Once Al was sent to hell, he was betrayed once again. Determined to return to Earth as a Hellspawn Warrior in order to reunite with his wife, Spawn was able to come back but is unable to resume his human form. Stuck in his demonic warrior shell, he also finds out that his wife moved on and married his best friend.

This revelation turned Spawn into a ruthless justice-seeker, taking out the evil and bad guys for revenge. Spawn then enlists the help of Detective Twitch, who in turn aids him with the intelligence and intuition that Spawn needs to battle the world’s evil. Unbothered by Spawn’s demonic appearance, Detective Twitch is the perfect “man on the computer” sidekick to the hero.

“Jeremy is the ideal choice for Twitch Williams,” MacFarlane said. “He radiates honesty, intelligence and a hard-working, everyman charisma, the same qualities that make Twitch such a compelling character.”