Ever since Kevin Feige changed the face of cinema forever, history has become littered with failed attempts at building shared universes to rival the all-conquering franchise created by Marvel Studios, and it looked as though Valiant‘s attempts to get in on the act were doomed to fail at the first hurdle.
Vin Diesel’s Bloodshot had the misfortune of being scheduled for a theatrical release in March of 2020, but when the pandemic ground the world to a halt, it was instead shuffled onto VOD almost immediately. While it drew in decent numbers on-demand, and the leading man teased a sequel, the trail has been cold for going on three years.
That’s why Variety breaking the news Pacific Rim: Uprising and Jurassic World Dominion co-writer Emily Carmichael is penning the screenplay for Faith came as such a surprise, because not a lot of people saw the Valiant saga rising from the ashes in a phoenix-like fashion after Bloodshot was greeted with a shrug more than anything else.
Harbinger also remains in active development alongside Faith as Paramount throws its lot into the superhero sandbox, but nobody’s heard a peep out of Diesel for a while. That’s even stranger when you consider he loves to tease sequels that nobody’s asking for, but maybe the mythology will be better off without him given that Fast & Furious has been plagued by reports claiming the chrome-domed producer loves throwing his weight around behind the scenes for his own benefit.
Do we need another universe populated by costumed crimefighters? Probably not, but the jury remains out on whether Valiant will even get as far as spawning one to begin with.
Published: Feb 10, 2023 03:19 am