The long-awaited live-action Mega Man movie has found a new writer in The Batman co-writer Matt Tomlin. There have been rumors of a Mega Man movie kicking around Hollywood since at least 2015 and as recently as 2017, but with a new writer attached it looks like development on the project has moved another inch forward. Now that the dust has settled in the wake of Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox (and all its properties) it seems the project might finally see the light of day.
Mega Man was first introduced to the world in a 1980s Nintendo video game, which spawned numerous sequels, TV shows, and anime (the character is known in Japan as Rockman). 20th Century Fox had announced it was working with the game’s publisher, Capcom, to develop a feature film back in 2015. That version never materialized and the project seemed to be dead until two years ago, when it was announced that the team behind Paranormal Activity 3 & 4, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, were attached to write and direct. This iteration of the film could have been derailed by Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s properties, but in an October shareholder update Capcom casually mentioned the film was still in development.
However, at the bottom of a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter it’s mentioned that Tomlin is writing Mega Man for Chernin Entertainment. With only a few short films under his belt, Tomlin was a surprise pick to write Warner Bros.’ upcoming The Batman from director Matt Reeves. Since the project has been stuck in the writing stage for some time now, no word on casting or a release date has been given. While nothing else regarding Mega Man is known at this time, Tomlin did seemingly confirm the news on Twitter via the use of an appropriate gif.
Prior to hiring Joost and Schulman, 20th Century Fox has spent years trying to secure the rights to Mega Man, but have seemingly handed control (thanks to the merger) over to Disney. Outside of a recent Cartoon Network series, Mega Man: Fully Charged, which aired from 2018-2019 (no second season has been announced) there hasn’t been much movement on the franchise, although it’s possible this is due to the Disney/Fox merger. In the meantime, Capcom kept busy producing the upcoming Sonic The Hedgehog movie, due in theaters next month, but that film’s box office performance (good or bad) could influence the speed of Mega Man’s development.
More: 12 Things You Need to Know About Mega Man
Source: THR
