Valiant’s Harbinger Film Release Pushed Up, Bloodshot Delayed

When news broke that Valiant Comics had signed a five-film deal with Sony Pictures, fans of the publisher were understandably stoked. The announcement confirmed the Valiant Cinematic Universe would begin in 2017 with a Bloodshot film before a Harbinger film followed. But, according to an exclusive report from The Wrap, it looks like those release dates have switched.

The site is reporting that Sony has flip-flopped the release dates for Bloodshot and Harbinger so that the latter hits theaters first. In the last month, Sony renewed its options for Harbinger to the tune of six figures and is planning to package the film as soon as possible.

With this in mind, Sony will now be pursuing Bloodshoot second. The film will premiere after Harbinger, but the main character of Bloodshot will be introduced to moviegoers in Harbinger as a villain. A source familiar with the second film told The Wrap that Bloodshot is eyeing a late 2017 or early 2018 release.

Of course, Sony has yet to comment on the exclusive reveal.

If you're not familiar with either of these Valiant franchises, then it's time you started reading. The two comics stand as some of the publisher's most well known titles. Harbinger follows a powerful character named Toyo Harada, the most powerful psionic on Earth. Obsessed with preserving the planet, Toyo chooses to take over the world, but he is constantly challenged by his former best friend Peter Stanchek who despises the Harbinger Foundation.

As for Bloodshot, the comic follows its eponymous character who is a former soldier with hi-tech regenerations gifts. The character was subjected to tests that made him into an 'ultimate soldier' but Bloodshot comes to resent the experimental procedures and vows to round-up 'harbingers' like Stanchek.

"Leading with Harbinger is an interesting choice," ComicBook.com's Jaime Lovett said. "A lot of the time, the Renegades aren't your typical superhero team. They're interesting in surviving, and stopping Harada from exploiting them and other Psiots. They're a team of delinquents on the run. Coming out of the gate with Harbinger seems like a good way for Valiant to immediately separate itself from its competitors."

Once these two films release, the Valiant Cinematic Universe will culminate with a Bloodshot/Harbinger crossover known as Harbinger Wars.

Leitch and Stahelski will work off of a screenplay by Jeff Wadlow (Kick Ass 2) Eric Heisserer while Matthew Vaughn and Jason Kothari will executive produce. Harbinger's director is still a secret, but Heisserer is confirmed as its sole screenwriter. Valiant's Chief Creative Officer, Dinesh Shamdasani, will produce all five films with Neal H. Moritz and Toby Jaffe from Original Films, and Andrea Gianetti from Sony.

If you're curious about how Bloodshot will feel, then you should check out this recent interview with Dinesh Shamdasani. The CEO of Valiant Entertainment said, "The Bloodshot film has more in common with Terminator and Robocop and Total Recall, than it does superhero fare. [It has] a superhero at the center of it, but all of the other iconography, the tropes, the conventions the trappings of the film are in a different genre than I think people would expect from Bloodshot."

[H/T] The Wrap