It's an easy thing to forget, but Marvel and DC aren't the only publishers in the comic book game. In fact, there are tons of amazing publishers who unleash crazy good books onto the stand every week like: Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Aftershock, Dark Horse, First Second, IDW, Monkeybrain, Avatar Press, Dangerzone, Dynamite, Black Mask, Runciman Press and more!
Even with all of those publishers named, there's one in particular who could very well become a household name in the foreseeable future as they make their way onto the big screen with properties like ARCHER & ARMSTRONG, HARBINGERS, BLOODSHOT, and NINJAK (just to name a few). That's right, I'm talking about Valiant Comics!
Today, it's been announced that Sony has tapped Justin Tipping and Joshua Beirne-Golden to do a rewrite of Valiant's upcoming superhero film HABINGER. Set to produce the film is FAST AND FURIOUS franchise producer Neal Moritz (Original Films), as part of a deal that will find 5 of Valiant's properties adapted into full-length feature films in the coming years. As of the moment, the other film that is currently being worked on is a comic book-to-screen presentation of BLOODSHOT – one of the indie publisher's best and longest running series.
BLOODSHOT is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2017, with David Leitch and Chad Stahleski (JOHN WICK) directing from a script by Jeff Wadlow (KICK ASS 2) and Eric Heisserer (STORY OF YOUR LIFE). Neal Moritz and Toby Jaffe and Valiant COO Dinesh Shamdasani are in line to produce with Matthew Vaughn and Jason Kothari marked as the film's executive producers.
As the start to Valiant's planned cinematic universe, HARBINGER was originally created by former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and artist David Lapham, in 1992. The story revolves around Peter Stanchek, a psionically-charged “harbinger” with the potential to reshape the course of human history. Respected philanthropist and fellow harbinger Toyo Harada then ushers Stanchek into the Harbinger Foundation where he begins a difficult road towards a destiny that will shake and ultimately shape the very foundations of the Valiant Universe.
One would suspect that in order to get a little cross-over action going on between characters, Bloodshot will be introduced to the harbingers via an Avengers-style event called HARBINGER WARS. In that story, the Harbinger Foundation and private security contractor Project Rising Spirit waging a secret war over the dangerously unpredictable superhuman telekinetics known as harbingers. Only now the reformed harbinger hunter Bloodshot must atone for his crimes — starting with setting two dozen of the most volatile harbingers free from their prison and into the world. Dun dun dunnnnnnn!
Be sure to stay close as more details about Sony's Valiant Cinematic Universe takes shape!