Whether you’re creating a new superhero-style adventure like Project Power, or breathing new life into something like Matt Reeves’ The Batman, there’s always some form of pressure from somewhere. Writer Mattson Tomlin knows this firsthand, as he's the latest talent to reimagine the iconic DC Comics hero, after a history that's seen Batman, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and even Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice setting out to do the very same thing. In fact, Tomlin recently described the pressure to make Batman new again... again, as follows:
Ahead of the release of his new Netflix movie this weekend, Mattson Tomlin talked about how working on something like Project Power is like inviting audiences to a new party, with a brand new world to play around in. Whereas tackling a project like The Batman is akin to holding a new party in a place where so many know the ins and outs. It also helps put the pressure on someone like Tomlin when, in the case of his script work on Matt Reeves’ big entry into the DC Comics universe, you happen to be a fan of the character you’re working on. Matt Tomlin told Discussing Film almost "nobody" else has been in the position to work on both a high-profile and and more independent superhero-type movies before noting,
I think almost nobody. I now have such an appreciation for both ends of the spectrum as you say. With The Batman, there is this immense pressure because people love the character. I love that character and he means a tremendous, tremendous deal to me. And you want people to like what you’re doing. You want people to come back and see this new version.
That scenario is only amplified when you think about how, in merely the space of a decade, we saw Christopher Nolan break the mold on Gotham’s Caped Crusader with The Dark Knight, and Zack Snyder attempt to tell his full version of the character with Ben Affleck’s performance in Batman v. Superman and Justice League. On top of the turn of events that saw Affleck leave the writing/directing duties of his own Batman one-off, you can see where even being associated with a project like The Batman could hypothetically keep someone like Mattson Tomlin up at night. There's a lot of pressure to get the character right.
Still, if the world never pushed out new and exciting visions of familiar characters, we’d never get movies like The Dark Knight or Batman v. Superman. And Mattson Tomlin will have plenty of help bringing his version to life. With Robert Pattinson and an amazing ensemble of supporting players tasked to get Gotham back on the silver screen yet again, it’s hard not to be equally nervous and excited when it comes to what The Batman will show us on its planned October 1, 2021 release date. You won’t have to wait that long to see Mattson Tomlin’s latest work though, as Project Power is currently available on Netflix.
