Actor Lamorne Morris is joining the cast of Bloodshot, the Sony superhero movie starring Vin Diesel. Bloodshot actor Sam Heughan recently revealed that filming is about to begin on the project, which marks the start of what Sony hopes will become a franchise built around characters from multiple Valiant comic books.
Eiza Gonzalez and Michael Sheen are also confirmed for Bloodshot, together with Game of Thrones actor Johannes Haukur Johannesson and Fantastic Four’s Toby Kebbell. Jared Leto was once reported to be interested in the part of Bloodshot, but Diesel ultimately took on the role. Fan art recently previewed what Diesel might look like playing the Valiant comics superhero, a slain mobster who after being re-animated is given regeneration powers as well as shape-shifting ability imparted by nanites injected into his blood.
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Deadline reports that Diesel and company will be joined by Lamorne Morris, the actor best known for playing Winston on the Fox sitcom New Girl. Morris will play a character named Wilfred Wigans, a young scientist who becomes unlikely allies with Bloodshot. The actor is reportedly signed up for two more films, locking him down in the event that Sony gets its wish for the first film to spawn a franchise.
Morris and the rest of the New Girl cast recently wrapped up the series after its seventh season, bringing to an end the wacky adventures of Jess, Nick, Schmidt, Coach, Cece and company. Earlier this year, Morris starred alongside Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in the hit comedy Game Night (so well did Game Night perform that there has actually been talk of a sequel). Morris is also set to appear in Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ untitled romantic comedy co-starring Lily James, Kate McKinnon and Ana de Armas.
Sony originally unveiled its plans to create a cinematic universe based on Valiant comics back in 2015. Originally, the comic book title Harbinger was targeted as the one to kick off the universe, but now Bloodshot has been placed in the front seat with Diesel on board as a major name actor and Dave Wilson making his feature debut as director. Sony, of course, has had some bad luck when it comes to launching franchises, but they’re hoping their fortunes will turn around with this project. It remains to be seen, however, if interest in Bloodshot will be high enough to spawn an entire cinematic universe based on Valiant comics. Sprawling shared universes are generally a bad idea these days, unless you’re Marvel.
More: The Shared Universe Craze May Already Be Dying
Source: Deadline
