The report that DMG Entertainment has acquired Valiant Comics is causing a big stir in the comic book industry right now. With Valiant poised for a big live-action breakthrough this year, some fans are legitimately worried that this deal could bring some unfavorable changes to the publisher and its universe.
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Rather than let imagination run rampant, we here at Comicbook.com spoke to sources familiar with the deal, to get the run down on how this new deal with DMG will affect Valiant’s structure and operations. Read on below for what we learned.
New Structure, New Leadership
The first thing to answer is: how will Valiant fit into the DMG structure? Well, as we’ve been told, Valiant is now a subsidiary of DMG, which was founded and led by Dan Mintz. The “core Valiant publishing team” that’s been in place since 2012 will continue to run the comic book line.
However, there will be a change in leadership: CEO/CCO Dinesh Shamdasani will resign, as will COO Gavin Cuneo and Chairman Peter Cuneo. Shamdasani and Gavin Cuneo will remain onboard in consultant capacities. This transition won’t disrupt publishing: Valiant’s ongoing publishing operations will continue as scheduled, and the publishing HQ will remain in New York.
Valiant TV/Movies
As stated, Valiant was poised for a big breakthrough into live-action, thanks to projects like the upcoming Web series Ninjak vs. The Valiant Universe, and Sony’s two Valiant movies, Bloodshot and Harbinger, with the former recently announced to have Vin Diesel attached. So how does this DMG deal affect all these big live-action plans?
It was stated in the press release that DMG wants to keep all Valiant TV and film projects on track, and that the two announced films will be progressing uninterrupted at Sony. There will also be more announcements on these projects coming very soon. Stay tuned.
The New Plan
DMG Entertainment has been forward-thinking when it comes to film production and distribution, helping the Hollywood break into the lucrative waters of the expanding Chinese market for cinema. So what does DMG plan to do with a major stable of comic book superhero properties under its belt? According to co-founder Dan Mintz:
“Our priority is to build upon Valiant’s vast universe of characters from a filmmaker’s perspective. I’m excited to immerse Valiant’s fans well beyond the stories we tell cinematically — from publishing to gaming to theme parks and beyond.”
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All in all, it’s not hard to see the strategy behind this acquisition move: DMG has a worldwide distribution network and a production arm that needs intellectual property to occupy it; Valiant needs a parent company dedicated to producing and distributing its library. Combining forces is probably the only way either company could hope to grab market space to compete with the likes of DC and Marvel.
How do you feel about the Valiant / DMG deal? We’ll keep you updated on how the situation develops.
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