Why Bloodshot Was “Terrifying” For Director Dave Wilson

Bloodshot is gearing up to be an action-packed launch for Valiant Comics characters on the big screen. With a cast of veteran actors with various titles and styles on their resumé, it was director Dave Wilson who was stepping into his role for a genuine first time experience. Wilson, who earned his Hollywood stripes by heading up Blur Studios with Deadpool director Tim Miller, makes his directorial debut with a massive comic book movie — one which he admits was “terrifying” as he knew so many eyeballs would be landing on it. Still, he made his way through the production smoothly, resulting in a film which honors the Bloodshot comics and welcomes new viewers to his universe.

Sitting in a hotel room, casually dressed in his jeans and a sweatshirt, Wilson is ready to field questions from a dozen journalists who are going to dive into Bloodshot with him. The first thing he jokingly admits: making the movie was “almost as terrifying as this junket is.” Upon learning that the film will earn positive remarks from this particular journalist, Wilson’s enthusiasm is given an opportunity to shine though. Otherwise, his nerves are visible but it’s a clear sign that the director deeply cares about the reception of the film he spent months planning, building, and now sharing.

“On set, 300 people, cameras going, losing light… The experience is absolutely terrifying and thrilling at the same time,” Wilson said, noting that his background in visual effects and commercial editing had not revealed to him the scale of feature film production. “Filmmaking isn’t about what you planned. It’s about what happens on the day, and adapting to it,” he says. “Which is the fun part about it, too. No two days are the same.”

For Wilson, Bloodshot was an opportunity to tap into a couple areas of major interest: comics and technology. “I’m a big fan of the comic,” Wilson said, quickly adding, “I’m a huge fan of science fiction.” Since he was a kid, Wilson spent “countless hours” reading science fiction novels. His Bloodshot movie becomes a crossroads for the Valiant Comics stories and his passion for such a genre, resulting in his opportunity to provide notes on the script and bring his version of the movie to life. “That’s what I love about it, and sort of the ’80s and ’90s action movies I grew up loving.”

Some of those changes called for deep research into technology which is scarily close to our reality. One such discovery resulted in the look of Vin Diesel’s Bloodshot in the new film. While in the comics the character is pale skinned with a famous red dot on his chest, Wilson needed a reason for his character to look like that in this tech-based story. “My philosophy behind it was more of a manifestation of overclocking,” Wilson said, referencing a term which will be on display in the film. “Flight or fight kicks in. People say to you, ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ right? Because your blood cells rush away from the skin to feed your muscles, so that you can run away from whatever the f-ck is terrifying you. And in Bloodshot’s case, it’s the epitome of that, right? The nanites rush away from the skin to push bullets out of his organs that have been pilfered with them, or littered with them, and so he turns white. And the chest glows because they’re clustering his thoracic cavity. I needed some sort of biomechanical reason for him looking the way he looked.”

While both the Valiant Cinematic Universe and Wilson seem to be just getting started with movies, the director admits that he could easily be convinced to come back for more after this experience. “I love comic books, but I’m far more of a science fiction fan,” Wilson says. “Ultimately, you have to find the one thing that speaks to you.”