Comic book movies have dominated Hollywood for well over a decade, but with recent box office results sparking plenty of debate, it’s fair to wonder if the industry is starting to look elsewhere for its next big obsession.
That conversation has only picked up following the performance of Supergirl. While it would be an overreaction to declare superhero movies finished, especially with heavy hitters like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday still on the horizon, there are growing questions about how studio executives are interpreting the current landscape. One person who believes the shift has already started is Mattson Tomlin.
The screenwriter, who is currently working on The Batman: Part II alongside director Matt Reeves, recently weighed in during a conversation on X after a fan asked about the long-developing Mega Man movie.
Tomlin previously wrote multiple drafts of that adaptation, but his response suggested that projects based on comic books may no longer be at the top of Hollywood’s priority list.
According to Tomlin, studios are showing far more interest in adapting video games than comic books right now.
It’s an interesting observation, especially considering Tomlin’s resume. Along with The Batman Part II, he’s written the underrated superhero film Project Power and is also working on the adaptation of Keanu Reeves’ graphic novel series BRZRKR. If anyone has a good read on where studio conversations are headed, he’d certainly have some insight.
There are understandable reasons why this could be happening. Several recent superhero movies have struggled both critically and commercially, and that trend doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon.
In fact, a number of recent comic book disappointments have still managed to outperform Supergirl at the box office so far.
Meanwhile, video game adaptations have been putting together a surprisingly strong run.
Projects like Iron Lung, the passion project from Mark Fischbach (better known as Markiplier), turned a solid profit despite its relatively modest budget.
Then there’s Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons, which grew from internet horror lore into one of the biggest horror success stories in recent memory after inspiring multiple video games before making its jump to theaters.
Part of what made superhero movies so dominant over the last 15 years was how studios, particularly Marvel under Disney, transformed nearly every major release into a massive cultural event backed by enormous marketing campaigns.
That strategy worked incredibly well for a long time, but audiences may simply be becoming more selective about which superhero stories they show up for.
Video game adaptations have largely taken a different approach. Many of the recent success stories have been made with tighter budgets, more focused storytelling, and creators who genuinely understand the source material and the communities supporting it.
That formula paid off for Backrooms, which climbed into the top ten highest-grossing horror films of all time and opened the door for Parsons to direct an adaptation of Portal.
Iron Lung, based on a niche indie game and directed by Fischbach himself, even managed to outperform Avatar in theaters.
That doesn’t automatically mean superhero movies are headed for extinction or that every video game adaptation is destined to become a hit.
There are still comic book films finding audiences, and being based on a popular game certainly isn’t a guaranteed recipe for success.
Movies like Eli Roth’s Borderlands and Return to Silent Hill are reminders that recognizable gaming franchises can still miss the mark with critics and moviegoers alike.
What Tomlin’s comments highlight is a changing mindset inside Hollywood. Studios are constantly chasing the next reliable blockbuster formula, and right now, video game adaptations appear to have their attention.
Whether that’s a temporary swing or the beginning of a much bigger industry shift remains to be seen.
For comic book fans, hopefully the lesson isn’t to make fewer superhero movies. It’s to make better ones.
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