--- title: 'Mattson Tomlin Says Hollywood’s Next Franchise Bet Is Video Games' type: 'blog post' section: 'Industry' format: 'Editorial feature' standfirst: 'The Batman 2 co-writer says he is receiving five times more video-game adaptation offers than comic-book ones, as recent box-office results push studios toward Mario, Minecraft and Sonic.' author: 'CinePixo' published: '2026-09-05' updated: '2026-09-05' about_films: - 'The Batman (2022)' tags: - 'Mattson Tomlin video game adaptations' - 'Hollywood video game movie trend 2026' - 'Mega Man movie status' - 'upcoming video game movies 2027' - 'superhero box office decline' - 'Super Mario Galaxy Movie box office' sources: - 'https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/hollywood-is-shifting-its-approach-to-book-adaptations-with-early-bets/ar-AA2bBubc' - 'https://www.ign.com/articles/i-am-getting-at-least-5x-more-offers-for-video-game-adaptations-than-comic-book-adaptations-the-batman-2-co-writer-says-hollywood-is-shifting-from-superheroes-to-video-games' - 'https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/am-getting-least-5x-more-095738140.html' canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/blog/mattson-tomlin-says-hollywoods-next-franchise-bet-is-video-games' publisher: 'CinePixo' --- # Mattson Tomlin Says Hollywood’s Next Franchise Bet Is Video Games *The Batman 2 co-writer says he is receiving five times more video-game adaptation offers than comic-book ones, as recent box-office results push studios toward Mario, Minecraft and Sonic.* By CinePixo, 2026-09-05 · Industry Mattson Tomlin, co-writer of The Batman 2, said on July 3, 2026, that Hollywood is moving its franchise attention from comic books to video games. Speaking on social media and reported by IGN, Tomlin said he is receiving “at least 5x more offers” for video-game adaptations than comic-book adaptations this year. For film readers, that is a useful glimpse of how studios are placing their next bets: less faith in obscure superheroes, more in characters whose audiences already span games, families and online communities. ## Mattson Tomlin’s Five-to-One Signal Tomlin was responding to a question about the long-discussed Mega Man movie. He said the project is no longer on his schedule, though he had written several drafts and believed another writer joined later. He still hopes the film gets made, pointing to an emotional and surprising route into the material. His larger point was about the market around him. “Hollywood is sort of making a shift from being comic book obsessed to video game obsessed,” Tomlin wrote, adding that Mega Man could still reach cinemas in some form. Because so much time has passed, he does not expect to be involved if it moves ahead. That is one writer’s view, not a studio forecast. It is also a revealing one. Tomlin works on a major superhero property with The Batman 2, yet says the assignments arriving at his door now lean heavily toward games. The change is showing up in the work available before it appears on a release calendar. ![Cosplay of Joker from Batman The Animated Series and Joker from the 2019 film "Joker" at Centro de arte y cultura Futurama (ExpoBatman20220917 ohs03)](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/115a6c99-6a4f-4949-9d6d-11307361a3ee.webp) *Photo: PetrohsW · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cosplay_of_Joker_from_Batman_The_Animated_Series_and_Joker_from_the_2019_film_%22Joker%22_at_Centro_de_arte_y_cultura_Futurama_(ExpoBatman20220917_ohs03).jpg)* ## Superhero Reliability Has Cracked The superhero movie has not vanished. Recent releases have shown, however, that the old promise of automatic success is gone. IGN pointed to struggles for Marvel and DC films including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts and Supergirl. The article also noted that occasional hits such as Deadpool & Wolverine and Spider-Man films can still break past $1 billion. The distinction matters. Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers remain powerful names, but a lesser-known comic-book character no longer arrives with the same built-in guarantee. Outside the biggest tentpoles, studios have had to work harder for attention. Video games offer a different kind of starting position. Their characters come with existing recognition, but the strongest recent examples have also reached people who may never have played the source material. That combination is especially valuable when the target is a family audience. ![Robert Pattinson at Lincoln Center attending “The Batman” Premiere in NYC on March 1st, 2022](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/3f6308b7-804b-4150-8420-90200d07ca42.webp) *Photo: Loveworldpeace2003 · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Pattinson_at_Lincoln_Center_attending_%E2%80%9CThe_Batman%E2%80%9D_Premiere_in_NYC_on_March_1st,_2022.jpg)* ![Little Caesars The Batman Pizza 2022](https://pokemon-dive.us-lax-4.linodeobjects.com/cinepixo/posts/2026/09/93f2e3ca-bb03-4a6d-9135-d9b8f7e30327.webp) *Photo: Rowanswiki · [CC0](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en) · [source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Caesars_The_Batman_Pizza_2022.jpg)* ## Mario, Minecraft and Sonic Changed the Math The four highest-grossing video-game movies ever were released within the last three years, according to IGN’s report. The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned $1.3 billion worldwide. Its sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, passed $1 billion, while A Minecraft Movie came in just under that mark. The Sonic the Hedgehog films and Five Nights at Freddy’s have also performed strongly. IGN described Iron Lung as a megahit relative to its production cost, suggesting that games do not need Mario’s scale to make a persuasive case for investment. The record is hardly clean. Mortal Kombat 2 struggled at the box office, while Until Dawn and Return to Silent Hill made little theatrical impact. Those misses do not cancel the larger pattern; they show that the game label alone cannot rescue a weak film. Studios are chasing a category with recent winners, not buying certainty. ## The 2026-to-2029 Release Wave The next test arrives quickly. Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie is due in September 2026, followed by Street Fighter in October. The 2027 schedule is crowded with The Angry Birds Movie 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, The Legend of Zelda, A Minecraft Movie Squared and Helldivers. The following year brings the Elden Ring movie, which is currently filming, along with Call of Duty and possibly Battlefield. A Donkey Kong film has also been rumored. Super Mario Movie 3 is expected in 2029. Beyond those announced or discussed projects sit adaptations of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Horizon Zero Dawn, Gears of War, Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid. The list suggests a pipeline broad enough to support different tones, budgets and age groups, from family animation to darker action and horror. ## Hollywood Is Betting Early on Game Worlds Tomlin’s comment captures the shift before the audience can measure it in finished films. Studios are responding to recent grosses, but they are also looking for brands that can travel across games, toys, streaming and theatrical releases. Mario, Link, Sonic and Steve now occupy the space once reserved for a much wider range of caped characters. That does not mean superhero films are finished. The upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday are expected to perform well, and the major heroes will keep returning. The change is in where Hollywood sees room to grow. For now, the clearest evidence is Tomlin’s inbox: five video-game adaptation offers for every comic-book offer. The next few release calendars will show whether that early bet becomes a durable movie habit. ## How this piece was made **Format:** Editorial feature ## In this piece - 2022 · [The Batman](https://cinepixo.com/movies/the-batman-2022) ## Sources - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/hollywood-is-shifting-its-approach-to-book-adaptations-with-early-bets/ar-AA2bBubc - https://www.ign.com/articles/i-am-getting-at-least-5x-more-offers-for-video-game-adaptations-than-comic-book-adaptations-the-batman-2-co-writer-says-hollywood-is-shifting-from-superheroes-to-video-games - https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/am-getting-least-5x-more-095738140.html Every factual claim above is drawn from these. The reading of them is ours. Source: https://cinepixo.com/blog/mattson-tomlin-says-hollywoods-next-franchise-bet-is-video-games Written for CinePixo. Nothing on this page is imported prose.