Bloodshot may not have been a huge success when it arrived back in March, but nonetheless a sequel is apparently still on the cards. The Valiant Comics actioner was primed by Sony to be the start of a new superhero cinematic universe to rival Marvel and DC, but unfortunately it came out just as the COVID-19 pandemic was causing theaters to close down and the result was that it made a mere $37 million globally off of a $45 million budget.
But producer Dan Mintz has now stressed that the studio is pleased enough with its performance on digital to move forward with a sequel. Mintz spoke to CBR and, though he didn’t mention any specific figures, he did say that the response to it was strong and that star Vin Diesel and the team are still committed to continuing the franchise.
A few months back, we had heard that they might simply reboot the property and recast Diesel, but it seems that plans have now changed, as Mintz had the following to share about what’s to come:
“I think [Bloodshot] was very successful in that respect, a lot of people saw it and it did very well in the post-release rollout but you can’t use the same evaluation process, pre-COVID, to this. [Are] Vin Diesel and all those people going to still continue? Yes, because it did so well and the response to it has been so well, it’s just that the response has been in a non-transparent environment, as opposed to a transparent environment like box office numbers.”
Of course, the producer does make a very good point here about COVID-19 completely changing how we judge a successful movie. Disney’s Mulan, for instance, must’ve made just a fraction of what it would’ve earned in theaters when it was released on Disney Plus Premier Access, and yet it’s been talked about as a smart move for the Mouse House.
For those unfamiliar, Bloodshot features Vin as Ray Garrison, a fallen U.S. Marine who’s resurrected with an experimental nanite tech procedure that imbues him with superhuman abilities. Guy Pearce, Eiza Gonzalez, Sam Heughan and Toby Kebbell co-star. It was torn apart by critics – standing at just 30% on Rotten Tomatoes – but Vin fans and action lovers definitely took to the pic, as its RT audience score is a much more robust 78%. Maybe there’s hope for a follow-up after all, then?
Tell us, though, would you like to see another Bloodshot movie? Let us know down below.