Ratner turns Valiant

Holy crap! I didn’t see this one coming… Brett Ratner has signed on to develop and direct a movie based on the Valiant Comics title HARBINGER for Paramount. HARBINGER was part of the relaunch of Valiant in the early-90s when I was truly geeking out on comics. The imprint saw early success with titles like “Solar: Man of the Atom,” “Magnus Robot Fighter” and “Turok.” But mismanagment led Valiant to implode after just a few highly successful years. But now it’s back in a big way thanks to Ratner who, after X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, wanted to develop his own superhero franchise. The plot follows a group of teenagers with superhuman abilities struggling with their newfound powers and fighting the most powerful superhuman Toyo Harada who is bent on world domination. Doesn’t sound so great just based on my little synopsis but there’s much more to it than that, trust me. Whether Ratner will bring all that out on screen or boil it down to a teen version of FANTASTIC FOUR remains to be seen. Producer Arnon Milchan says he and Ratner envision the property to be like a “young BLADE RUNNER.” Hmmm. I don’t have the utmost faith in Ratner but I’m definitely curious about this property. At least good to see that those old Valiant comics I have sitting in a box in the basement might actually be worth something one day…