After helping out with the early stages of Marvel Studios meteoric run, it looks like Paramount Pictures is getting back into the superhero business as they’ve scooped up the Valiant Entertainment adaptation Harbinger from Sony Pictures. But this move comes with the unfortunate consequence of jeopardizing Valiant’s plans for a shared cinematic universe, because the Vin Diesel film Bloodshot is remaining at Sony. The creative team behind Harbinger is transferring over to Paramount, with filmmaker Justin Tipping, co-writer Joshua Beirne-Golden, and producer Neal Moritz still attached to the movie, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Harbinger is one of Valiant’s best known properties and is arguably the publisher’s premiere superhero team. So even though Bloodshot won’t be able to crossover and the Harbinger Wars film is likely off the table, there are still plenty of characters that fans will like to see in the movie.
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Sony had fast tracked Harbinger and attempted to get filming started this year, with names like Noah Centineo and Dylan O’Brien rumored to be involved. Now it looks like Paramount will slow down on those production plans, working on it with the same filmmakers for a little bit longer before moving forward.
Valiant made the deal with Sony years ago, and now that Valiant has been acquired DMG Entertainment, they’re changing their approach to their plans for movie franchises, as evidenced by the Harbinger move. Valiant retains the rights to characters such as X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong, and the Eternal Warrior, meaning they can try a different approach at building a shared universe with crossovers in the future.
Bloodshot, however, remains on Sony Island, and the report indicates that this could lead to another Spider-Man-esque split between the studio and a superhero comics publisher.
Bloodshot is currently scheduled to premiere in theaters on February 21, 2020, with Vin Diesel set to star as the violent superpowered soldier.
There’s no word yet on when Harbinger will plan to be released, but now that it has a new home with Paramount, we will likely start to hear about Valiant’s plans for their superhero universe in the near future.
