Mattson Tomlin may now be busy with projects in the Game of Thrones and DC universes, but prior to these titles, he nearly wrote for another famed fantasy franchise.
Tomlin isn’t a household name yet, but he’s making his mark as a Hollywood screenwriter. After projects like Project Power, he worked on the screenplay for 2022’s The Batman starring Robert Pattinson. He was also the showrunner for the Netflix Terminator Zero anime series.
Tomlin is keeping busy with the screenplay for The Batman 2, projects based on the hit Mega Man video games, and, of course, a show all about Aegon the Conqueror. In a recent social media post, he revealed that he once came close to writing a new movie in the Crow series.
Love the book. I almost wrote a Crow film but it didn’t materialize for pretty silly reasons. I have a way in I love and may eventually spin into something original and different. https://t.co/sekhWgURja
— mattson tomlin (@mattsontomlin) August 3, 2025
“Love the book," he responded to a fan who asked if he was a fan of the franchise. "I almost wrote a Crow film but it didn’t materialize for pretty silly reasons. I have a way in I love and may eventually spin into something original and different.”
Tomlin’s love for The Crow is understandable. First published in 1989, the comic book by Jason O’Barr focuses on Eric Draven, a rocker who, along with his girlfriend, is murdered. A mystical crow brings Eric back to life to seek revenge on his killers and later fight for justice.
The property became famous for the 1994 movie starring Brandon Lee, who tragically died during filming in a freak on-set accident.
The film went on to spawn several sequels and even a syndicated TV show. Most recently, there was a 2024 reboot starring Bill Skarsgård that was a commercial and critical flop. Still, there is a solid fan following for the franchise that could have worked for another movie entry.
Tomlin would have brought his nice gothic edge to the story, and the parallels between Batman and the Crow have always been obvious. Tomlin proved he could make a grounded take on the Caped Crusader work for a modern audience, so it only makes sense he could have done the same with the Crow. After all, it’s not like it could have been much worse than the 2024 version.
It doesn’t sound like it will happen, as the failure of the 2024 film pretty much crushed any hopes of a revival of the property, at least for now. One has to wonder how Tomlin would have handled the saga and perhaps made it work for a new generation.
As it is, Tomlin is keeping busy with his own projects, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for more substantial updates on his Aegon's Conquest spinoff sooner rather than later. While he's confirmed he's been writing "lots" of the Game of Thrones prequel, the series has yet to be officially announced by HBO.
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