The film adaptation of the Valiant Entertainment comic book ‘Harbinger’ is still alive, but it is moving from Sony over to Paramount. The creators attached, director Justin Tipping (‘Dear White People’, ‘The Chi’) and producer Neal H. Moritz (‘Preacher’, ‘The Boys’), will remain intact. Tipping co-wrote the script with Joshua Beirne-Golden, building on an earlier draft by Eric Heisserer (‘Arrival’). Moritz was instrumental in the shift, after he moved his first-look deal from Sony to Paramount last year. Toby Jaffe and Valiant Comics’ Dan Mintz will also produce.
One adjustment is that ‘Harbinger’ is no longer on the fast-track. At one point, Sony had ‘Harbinger’ set to begin filming this summer or fall. At one point Dylan O’Brien and Noah Centineo were in the running to star. But it appears that the project will go back into pre-production at Paramount, before moving forward.
Of course, this does throw one major wrench into potential plans. At one point, Valiant (now owned by DMG Entertainment) was hoping to build a cinematic universe at Sony, similar to Marvel (at Disney) and DC (Warner Brothers). Sony does have ‘Bloodshot’, based on another Valiant property, set to arrive in February. ‘Harbinger’ was expected to be the second installment, and would have helped to build this shared universe, leading into a crossover film called ‘Harbinger Wars’ after a Valiant miniseries event. Now, with ‘Harbinger’ at a different studio, don’t expect that to happen. Sony has already shown that they don’t play well with others.
However, insiders state that ‘Bloodshot’ isn’t an integral part of the Valiant comics universe, and it is believed that a shared film universe can exist without him. Reportedly, the comics are more focused on properties ‘X-O Manowar’, ‘Eternal Warrior’, and ‘Archer & Armstrong’, and the publisher retains those film rights.
Just speculating here, but if ‘Bloodshot’ winds up being a hit, Valiant may decide to send more properties to Sony to build on that. But if not, it may hold on to them and take them to Paramount, should ‘Harbinger’ prove more successful.
Are you looking forward to movies based on Valiant comic book properties?
‘Bloodshot’, directed by Dave Wilson, and starring Vin Diesel, is set to open on February 21, 2020.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
