The Batman Part II‘s writer, Mattson Tomlin, just gave comic book movie fans a very real reason to worry. Responding to a fan on X who asked about the Mega Man movie he was writing, Tomlin said Hollywood is currently shifting from being “comic book obsessed” to “video game obsessed.” And he’s not just making that up or being extreme. By his own account, he’s now getting at least five times more offers for video game adaptations than comic book ones this year.
But it makes sense with everything we’ve been watching play out over the past two years: comic book movies just aren’t making the same money they did before, and so Hollywood has found a new IP to run after: video games.
The Mega Man movie itself is a good example. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it sees the light of day in some form, but after so much time gone by, it’s unlikely I’ll have anything to do with it.” Tomlin wrote early drafts of the adaptation years ago, but says it’s “not on my dance card anymore,” with another writer having taken over the script at some point. He still hopes it gets made, saying he found what he felt was a genuinely emotional and surprising way into the story.
With plenty of new video game film adaptations on the way, fans are excited to see their favourites show up on the big screen. But could video game movies replace comic book movies in the coming years?
Why Superhero Movies Are Losing Steam At The Box Office
For over a decade, Marvel and DC have ruled the cinematic landscape. Whether it was Batman and Superman facing off on screen for the first time in live-action or the first time we saw the Avengers assemble, it’s fair to say that comic book films have redefined the world of modern entertainment forever.
However, as has happened time and time again, the spark of the comic book movie genre seems to be in a steady decline (just look at the profits of The Marvels, DC’s The Flash or more recently, Supergirl). While they are not completely dead by any extent of the imagination, people just don’t see them in the same light they did four years ago. You only have to look at the reactions to Marvel’s recent releases to see proof of the decline.
This is because of two things, both of which affect each other greatly. The first one would be the quality of film releases from these studios; there seems to be an almost constant stream of movies being released based on superheroes or comic book lore, which inevitably leads to them feeling more like entertainment products instead of carefully crafted cinematic experiences.
The other reason is that, for better or for worse, superhero flicks have just run their course. Avengers: Endgame could have been the last MCU film ever to hit theatres, and no one would have been mad. Much like the comic books they’re based on, these cinematic universes have become too convoluted for some moviegoers who would rather watch a standalone film than devote their time and money to yet another complex movie franchise with multiverses and multiple characters with the same names.
Why Video Game Movies Are Finally Working
What once was considered a death sentence for a franchise among video game fans has now proven itself to be a viable source of storytelling for major studios. Video game movies have made the transition from old-school electronic entertainment to feature films with surprisingly high success rates, as we saw in 2020’s Sonic The Hedgehog, 2022’s Uncharted and 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
According to every piece of empirical evidence, Sonic The Hedgehog should have been a mess, but it turned into one of the most surprising success stories of the pre-COVID film season. For many, the reason why Sonic The Hedgehog succeeded even where more ambitious flicks had failed was that it listened to what its fans wanted and delivered a product that could be easily enjoyed by someone coming into the story fresh without having to study the lore and history of the blue hedgehog. In other words, it was simple, fun, and easy to follow.
Many of these projects also successfully tap into the nostalgia of older generations. Video game movies elicit memories of simpler times when blockbuster flicks could stand on their own two feet while being completely consumed in escapism.
These days, people crave simple pleasures (which Marvel and DC have abandoned). It seems that people prefer something that does not require much brain power, and the vast majority of filmgoers want nothing more than to immerse themselves in a story that can transport them away from the realities of everyday life. That is exactly what many video game movies do well: they give audiences a sense of homecoming because they bring them back to a time when entertainment was good for the soul. And there is hardly anything more satisfying than spending 2 hours or so getting lost in a fantasy world.
So, as we get closer to the release of the animated Super Mario Bros. film sequel, we should ask ourselves if maybe these 8-bit characters we’ve known and loved for so many years could dethrone the monolithic dominance of comic book films at the box office. Who knows – maybe in a few years, we’ll all be talking about where the Nintendo Cinematic Universe is headed. After all, the “NCU” has a nice ring to it, right?
More Video Game Movies And TV Shows Are Already In The Works
Tomlin is a hundred percent right. Just look around at what’s being released. Amazon Prime Video’s God of War series has found its Kratos, while Blizzard is reportedly planning a Warcraft TV series after years of false starts. And we’ve already got A Minecraft Movie, Uncharted, The Super Mario movies, Resident Evil movies, Mortal Kombat movies, a Street Fighter movie, Silent Hill movies, Five Nights at Freddy‘s movies, Until Dawn, Sonic the Hedgehog movies, a Borderlands movie, and so much more. And then there’s still a lot to look forward to: The Legend of Zelda, Elden Ring, Call of Duty, Helldivers, Watch Dogs, and so many more.
Even properties without a games-first movie deal are being treated like inevitabilities. Our interview with Nick Apostolides about voicing Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem touched on Zach Cregger’s upcoming film in the same franchise, and fan campaigns for a live-action Red Dead Redemption movie continue to gain steam years after the games themselves went quiet. Even properties that don’t have stories are getting films. Michael Bay and Sydney Sweeney are turning the 1986 arcade racer OutRun into an actual movie.
This is exactly the shift Tomlin is describing.
Are Video Game Movies The New Comic Book Movies?
For a long time, video games and movies have had a difficult relationship. The two platforms have struggled to crossover and deliver a good video game movie or a good movie video game. Of course, that didn’t stop Hollywood and gaming studios from trying.
It’s been the same story over and over again. A great video game is released and gains a large fanbase following. Hollywood attempts to cash in on the audience’s devotion to the franchise and creates a movie adaptation. The filmmakers aren’t gamers and don’t understand how to translate what’s in the game into a film universe. The end result is films like Assassin’s Creed, Tekken, Max Payne, Need for Speed, Resident Evil and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Of course, the opposite is also true. There have been great movies that were turned into terrible games, too.
However, there’s been a change recently. It seems the developers and scriptwriters are finally on the same page. Filmmakers are learning to stick to the lore and the worlds created in the games. The Last Of Us TV series is a perfect example of this, with the show not straying too far off from the source material.
However, despite the growing prominence of video game movies and TV shows, it’s unlikely that they will completely replace comic book films. The two genres offer distinct experiences and cater to different audiences. Comic book movies often rely on beloved characters and established storylines, tapping into a sense of nostalgia and familiarity for longtime fans. Meanwhile, video game movies have the potential to explore new narratives and introduce audiences to previously uncharted worlds or offer the same nostalgia offered by comic book films.
While video game movies are undoubtedly on the rise and pose a significant threat to the dominance of comic book films, they are unlikely to replace them entirely. Instead, both genres will continue to coexist, offering audiences diverse cinematic experiences. As technology continues to advance and storytelling techniques evolve, the future of blockbuster entertainment will surely be exciting, with both comic book and video game movies playing pivotal roles in shaping it.
