“Arrival” screenwriter Eric Heisserer has given fans of “Harbinger” and “Bloodshot”an update on the status of the Valiant comic book adaptations.
“I believe ‘Harbinger’ is out on the director version of Tinder, trying to find a match,” he said in a recent interview for TheWrap’s magazine. “We’re trying to find the right filmmaker for that project, but I’m pretty excited about that.”
When asked what’s happening with the script for “Bloodshot,” Heisserer said, “I am right now staring at a revised draft of ‘Bloodshot;’ that’s what I am working on today.” He added that he hopes to be done with it soon because he wants “to go off and enjoy Thanksgiving peacefully!”
In September, Sony revealed it would be moving forward with its five-film plan for joint franchises based on the Valiant comic books “Harbinger” and “Bloodshot.” The studio preemptively renewed its option on “Harbinger” — which follows a teenage runaway with massive telekinetic powers — for a sum in the high six figures and is moving to package the pictures quickly.
The previously announced “Bloodshot” — about a mortally-wounded soldier resurrected with cutting-edge nanotechnology and tasked with rounding up “harbingers” — is now seen as the second film in the series.
Bloodshot would be introduced as the villain in franchise kickoff “Harbinger,” an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap back in September, with the “Bloodshot” film following a year later.
The plot of the “Harbinger” screenplay by Heisserer is being kept under wraps, but it’s believed to follow Valiant’s 2012 volume in the “Bloodshot” series.
Additionally, the move to bump “Harbinger” up in the release order is giving Sony ample opportunity to develop and position additional spinoffs from the Valiant universe.
The publisher’s library represents an as-yet untapped well of intellectual property for Hollywood. Valiant’s bench of more than 2,000 superhero characters (with lifetime sales of more than 80 million copies) makes it the third largest library of superheroes behind Marvel and DC — and the only one not currently owned by a major conglomerate.
Sony has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.