Don't sweat it if you don't know a thing about Valiant Comics. They were really popular for awhile in the '90s and are still around to this day, but their past isn't as important as their future. Last month we learned a deal was in the works for the publisher's stable of superheroes to hit the big and small screen, THR reports they'll team up with franchise-starved Sony Pictures on a 5-picture deal. And the first two films out of the gate have some significant talent attached.
John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch will direct Bloodshot, arguably Valiant's most popular and enduring character. Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2) and Eric Heisserer (The Thing) will co-write the screenplay, with Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service) producing the story following “a soldier brought back from the dead by a secret government agency, turned into an unstoppable killing machine with no memory powered by nanotechnology.” The plan is to have Bloodshot in theaters some time in 2017, so these projects are moving fast.
Next up is Harbinger, which is based on the team comic created by the legendary Jim Shooter. No director is attached yet but Heisserer will write the screenplay with Neal H. Moritz (the Fast & Furious franchise) producing. Harbinger centers on “a group of superpowered beings on the run from the Harbinger Foundation, an organization run by a mysterious philanthropist Toyo Harada.”
There are also Shadowman and Archer & Armstrong projects on the way at a later date. Maybe we can get a Quantum and Woody movie, finally? Pretty please?
