Bloodshot, the self-regenerating, meta-morphing super soldier from Valiant Comics will soon be heading to the big screen. Sony Pictures has announced that Vin Diesel will star as Bloodshot in a film adaptation of the Bloodshot comic series. The film was originally set for a 2017 release after Valiant Comics signed a five-movie deal with Sony Pictures in 2015. The plan is to make adaptations of both Bloodshot and Harbinger, with a crossover film called Harbinger Wars to follow. Principal photography on Bloodshot will start in July.
Vin Diesel, known best to movie fans for the Fast and the Furious franchise, is no stranger to comic book film adaptations having voiced Groot in the wildly successful Guardians of the Galaxy films. He has also starred in other franchise films as the thrill seeking extreme sports enthusiast Xander Cage in the xXx series, and the goggle-wearing, mercenary-turned-soldier Riddick in the Chronicles of Riddick trilogy. If Diesel’s past roles are any indication he is the right star to play Bloodshot. The character has carved a niche in the comic-verse as a ruthless antihero. Due to the popularity of the Bloodshot series, Sony Pictures could have a successful blockbuster, and franchise, on their hands.
The timing for a new franchise based on a comic book hero couldn’t be better. The superhero genre is now the most successful in film history with multiple films passing the $1 billion mark. Just recently, Black Panther became the third superhero film to become one of top 10 highest grossing films of all time. The Marvel film has already earned $1.28 billion and has a chance of overtaking Marvel’s The Avengers ($1.518 billion) and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1.4 billion). Interest in the superhero genre is at an all-time high and doesn’t look to be slowing down.
Other industries have taken notice of the genre’s success and are capitalizing on the current wave of superhero fandom. From their humble beginnings on the page, a successful superhero will now lead to multiple media platforms taking advantage of their popularity. The most common expansion of a popular character is on digital gaming platforms. Foxy Bingo has a slate of games based on superheroes, including the online slot game Bloodshot, which is a nod to the character that Diesel is about to play. The fact that a mainstream game developer is paying homage to a character beyond the usual Marvel and DC staples is proof that the superhero genre is as robust as ever. This exposure across different mediums will increase the chance of Bloodshot doing well at the box office.
Bloodshot will reunite Diesel with Neal H. Mortz, who produced every one of the Fast and the Furious films. Co-producing with Mortz are Toby Jaffe and Dinesh Shamdasani. Matthew Vaughn and Dan Mintz are serving as executive producers. Dave Wilson will direct the film, with Oscar-nominated Eric Heisserer penning the script.
Filming is rumored to begin in May. We will keep you posted on things like release date and all that.
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