Mega Man movie writer looking to make a "primal and emotional" film that "isn't squarely in kid territory"

We just heard a couple weeks back that the Mega Man movie is still moving ahead, and there should be some news to share in the near future. While we wait for that news, Polygon had a chance to talk to writer Mattson Tomlin about his goals for the character's portrayal on the big screen.

I think the same way with with any other character, you treat him like he’s a real person. I was brought into that later in the process because Henry [Joost] and Ariel [Schulman], who directed Project Power, are also directing the Mega Man movie, and they had been working on it for a while and we just had such a good time working on Project Power together that they decided to be kind enough to continue to party in this other universe. My way into it was always, what is a compelling story? And what is the real soul of that character? We all kind of know him as this cartoonish Blue Bomber who jumps and shoots, and to kind of go beyond that and knowing that, OK, visually it’s going to be a certain thing that is going to please the video game fan, but you know what is the story at the center? They’re like, what is it that this character can really go through? It’ll be universal and primal and emotional and everybody can kind of relate to. So I’m really excited about that script. I’m really excited about what the guys are going to do with that movie and and hopefully there’ll be some news about it soon.

Will Mega Man be a movie that is aimed mostly at kids, just like Sonic the Hedgehog? Tomlin doesn't say the film will push kids away, but it's clear that the team is aiming for something more than just kid fodder.

I think it’s something that the kids will like. I don’t want to say what our comps are because it might betray a little bit too much, but it is not squarely in the kid territory. But I don’t think that that’s an R-rated movie either.