Valiant's Harbinger film adaptation is moving forward at Paramount with a new director. Harbinger is based on the comic publisher's title of the same name, originally created in 1992 by Jim Shooter and David Lapham, which follows teenager Peter Stanchek, an evolved superhuman with psionic powers, called a Psiot or Harbinger. Stanchek's powers mirror that of Toyo Harada, a powerful Japanese businessman, and also a Psiot, who runs the Harbinger Foundation, an organization that recruits and trains other Psiots, forming a personal army for Harada.
Harbinger has been in development since 2016, originally intended to launch Valiant's own cinematic universe with Sony Pictures. However, Valiant's Bloodshot starring Vin Diesel was the first to make it to the big screen, with its box office forced to contend with coronavirus closures, forcing a sudden pivot to a home video release. Harbinger then shifted from Sony to Paramount, meaning that the characters would not be a part of the same universe going forward. The last news on Harbinger's feature debut was that it was expected sometime in 2021, but has obviously been delayed. Now, there's some promising news that should get Valiant and Harbinger fans excited.
Screen Rant's sources have confirmed that Paramount's Harbinger has secured Paul Downs Colaizzo (Brittany Runs a Marathon) to direct, with the film being fast tracked to follow on the heels of Top Gun: Maverick's massive box office success. The idea is to expand on the Psiots of the Valiant Universe, who could potentially become Paramount's own superhero property akin to Marvel or DC. With Paramount riding high on the success of Top Gun: Maverick, as well as the above expectation growth of Paramount+ to nearly 64 million subs, the growth potential for Harbinger and Valiant in live-action form has gotten stronger.
Valiant has had a bumpy road of late on the publishing side, with layoffs, delays, and an uncertain marketplace, but the publisher has continued to put out books featuring their key characters and making attempts to push them into live-action. Along with Bloodshot and Harbinger, there's been talk of features or series for characters like Shadowman, Rai, Eternal Warrior, and X-O Manowar. Those properties are second priority to Harbinger, however, which has long been the IP that Valiant has sought to get out of the gate first, which would serve as the foundation for future adaptations.
While Valiant doesn't have as robust a library of characters as its counterparts like Marvel and DC, their staple characters have amazing live-action potential, which makes it a shame more of them haven't made it to the big screen as of yet. Harbinger is a great title to push in establishing a Valiant cinematic universe, as it immediately introduces super-powered humans and creates a universe where anything is possible, but characters like X-O Manowar, Shadowman, Turok, etc. all have just as much potential once that's established. Hopefully Harbinger continues to gain momentum and expands the publisher's potential to break through with a live-action hit that can expand and grow their universe.