Not many will remember the Spawn movie from 1997. Although okay, it hit the big screen before proper CGI heralded the golden age of superhero movies of the late 2000s. The movie had a killer soundtrack, combining hard rock bands with electro acts (think Marilyn Manson and The Sneaker Pimps), but it will be remembered for not truly giving Todd McFarlane’s Spawn his rightful due.

That’s set to change with a Spawn remake in the works. Here’s what we know so far. The director is Todd McFarlane himself (for good or bad - it will be his directorial debut), with him also writing the screenplay. It will, of course, be R-Rated, as one could expect from the Spawn comics.

The starring role is set to go to Jamie Foxx (Ray), playing the unfortunate Al Simmons, double crossed not only by his CIA black ops team but also by Satan himself. His encounter with the Devil does give him some awesome super powers though, but it’s how he will use these that determines his future.

Deadline has now confirmed that Jeremy Renner (The Avengers) has joined the team, as Detective ‘Twitch’ Williams, set to help the Hellspawn in his quest to conquer evil.

McFarlane is quite please with landing Renner for the role. “I’m a huge fan of his. The character doesn’t need to be a bodybuilder or GQ handsome. I was looking for somebody who’s a person you’ve met before; I needed someone who can pull off the grief of an average human being. I’ve seen Jeremy do that in more than a few of his movies. He was at the top of my list, just like Jamie,” he told Deadline.

Okay, so that’s two stars locked and loaded. But at this stage no distributor has been found yet, plus there’s no set release date.

Not sure what you missed first time round? Here’s the trailer of the old Spawn, just in case you need a refresher of how mediocre it truly was.