Valiant Entertainment
Now that Spider-Man is partly part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony needs its very own non-shared superhero mega-franchise. That could very well happen through Valiant Comics, the popular independent publisher that hosts such characters as Bloodshot and Shadowman. As shared by Slashfilm, Valiant Entertainment has announced a massive funding deal with China’s DMG Entertainment (Iron Man 3) for the development of “the first truly international cinematic universe,” according to Valiant head Dinesh Shamdasani
How does Sony factor? The studio is already working on a Bloodshot movie, set up with Fast and Furious franchise producer Neal H. Moritz and a script by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2), and then Shadowman (scripted by World War Z’s J. Michael Straczynski) and Archer & Armstrong (scripted by BenDavid Grabinski) are studio-less but in the works from producer Sean Daniel (The Mummy), who mostly works with Universal and Paramount but maybe could connect with Sony for involvement with the Valiant Cinematic Universe.
Not part of Valiant’s press release is the Harbinger movie, which was optioned years ago by Paramount before being turned around by Valiant and Brett Ratner’s production company with a script by Stephen Susco (The Grudge remake). That’s another major title from the publisher and one that would have to be a part of their VCU. It’s been a really long time since I’ve read any of their comics, but a quick look at characters gives me the feeling that for a “truly” international universe, they should also have Rai and Ninjak.
There will also be television projects as part of the Valiant and DMG deal, though it’s not clear if the universe will be tying together small and big screen efforts, a la Marvel. Maybe some of those aren’t even US productions. Obviously with DMG putting in so much money (eight figures), the movies we see adapted from Valiant comics are going to need to have Chinese-market appeal. Whether or not that hurts its quality, Sony or whatever studio handles the distribution won’t be too concerned. China-targeting blockbusters Iron Man 3 and Transformers: Age of Extinction each made more than $1b worldwide.
