Now that Sony gave up on Marvel’s Spider-Man, the studio needs a new comic book property to mine. The studio announced a deal with independent comic publisher Valiant Entertainment that includes five films to be produced by some experienced talent.
Valiant and Sony said that the first film will be Bloodshot in 2017. The film will be directed by John Wick team David Leitch and Chad Stahelski. The screenplay will be written by Jeff Wadlow (Kick Ass 2) and Eric Heisserer (Story of Your Life).
Producers include Neal H. Moritz & Toby Jaffe of Original Film (The Fast and the Furious) and Valiant’s Dinesh Shamdasani. X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn will be among the executive producers.
Heisserer will also write Harbinger, which doesn’t have a director yet. The title characters will then meet in Harbinger Wars, based on the 2013 series that saw the characters come together.
Bloodshot was created in 1992 by Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton. The character is nearly unstoppable, with incredible speed, strength and healing abilities.
Meanwhile, Harbinger was created by Jim Shooter and David Lapham in 1992. The series is about Peter Stanchek, a telekinetic teen who is recruited by the Harbinger Foundation.
“Sony Pictures and Neal Moritz are the ideal partners to bring the world of Bloodshot and Harbinger to life,” Shamdasani said in a statement. “They understand exactly what makes these characters tick and the exciting potential that they hold. These films are just the first step in partnership with Sony to bring Valiant’s biggest heroes to new audiences worldwide.”
Andrea Giannetti was picked to oversee the films for Sony.
The deal was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter before Sony and Valiant got to make it official.