Cult-classic superhero movie Spawn is back in a new 4K Limited Edition Blu-ray launching October 7

The 1997 Spawn Film Getting A Limited Edition 4K Blu-Ray

Cult-classic superhero movie Spawn is back in a new 4K Limited Edition Blu-ray launching October 7

Back in the '90s, Todd McFarlane's Spawn was one of the hottest comic books on shelves. The flagship series for Image Comics, Spawn's popularity spilled into mainstream pop culture with its own line of toys, an animated HBO series, and --perhaps most notably--a feature film adaptation in 1997 starring Michael Jai White as the titular anti-hero. Now, almost 18 years later, the grim superhero film is getting a Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray from Arrow Video, which is on a roll with 4K Blu-ray releases of cult-classic movies lately. The Spawn: Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray will include both the theatrical and director's cuts of the film, plus several collectibles and tons of special features. If you're looking to add the classic comics flick to your collection, preorders for the Spawn: Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray are available now for $50 at Amazon ahead of its launch on October 7.

The Spawn: Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray includes 4K versions of both the theatrical and director's cuts of 1997's Spawn crafted from the original camera negatives. The main difference between the Theatrical and Director's Cut is the tone, as a lot of the violence was removed from the film to secure a PG-13 rating. Other than that, the Director's Cut is less than three minutes longer than the Theatrical Cut, but the extra violence pushes it into rated-R territory.

The set also includes physical collectibles, such as a reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options, an illustrated collector's booklet, and a double-sided fold-out poster. There's also a ton of bonus materials, such as a a brand-new audio commentary with comic book expert and podcast host Dave Baxter, and new interviews with the film's cast and crew. You can also explore archival content, including behind-the-scenes featurettes, promotional materials, and audio commentary tracks, many of which are from previous DVD and Blu-ray releases. We've listed out all the bonus materials below.

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Spawn: Bonus Materials

Audio commentary with comic book expert and podcast host Dave Baxter (new)
Audio commentary with Todd McFarlane, Mark A.Z. Dippé, Clint Goldman, and Steve Williams
Hell's Perfect Son: An interview with actor Michael Jai White (new)
Spawn Support: An interview with actors Melinda Clarke and D.B. Sweeney (new)
The Devil’s in the Details: An interview with animatronic creature and special makeup effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero (new)
The Devil’s Music: An interview with music supervisor Happy Walters (new)
Order Out of Chaos: An interview with editor Michael Knue (new)
Todd McFarlane: Chapter & Verse featurette
The Making of Spawn featurette
Preview: Todd McFarlane’s Spawn – The Animated Movie
Theatrical trailer
Scene-to-storyboard comparisons
Original Todd McFarlane sketches
Spawn concept and sketch gallery
Director's and theatrical cuts of Spawn on two discs

Based on the titular comic book, Spawn tells the story of ruthlessly efficient black ops soldier Al Simmons. Betrayed and murdered by his commanding officer, Jason Wynn (Martin Sheen), Simmons is sent to hell for his sins, but he is resurrected on Earth by the devil Malebolgia as part of a grand scheme to kickstart the apocalypse. Empowered with the might of Hell, Simmons finds himself torn between his quest for revenge, dark forces, and salvation.

While it's not on the same level as Blade--which arrived a year later and is credited for modernizing superhero movies--there's still a lot to love about Spawn. It's afraid to be a comic book movie, and it mixed impressive practical effects with groundbreaking CGI at the time to bring the character to life. With Michael Jai White as the tortured antihero, the movie had a terrific leading man opposed by John Leguizamo's character of Clown, who could transform into the monstrous Violator when backed into a corner.

Spawn Graphic Novels

Overall, you had a fun popcorn flick for the time, and this 4K restoration sounds like a great opportunity to revisit it. You can also check out the comic books that turned Spawn into a household name. The Compendium Collection paperbacks are a nice option if you'd like telephone-sized books of Spawn--around 50 issues each with average paper quality--but if you want to spoil yourself, the Deluxe Editions are wider and taller reprints that collect 25 issues each and come with a slipcase cover.