Variety reports that Paramount has bought the rights to turn Harbinger, the 1990s Valiant comic, into a feature film, to be co-produced and potentially directed by X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner:
Ratner, who directed “X-Men: The Last Stand,” was looking for an opportunity to start a superhero franchise from scratch. Project will be scripted while Ratner continues work on other directing projects, including “Playboy,” the Brian Grazer-produced film about Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner for Universal.
Valiant Comics is being relaunched by Valiant Entertainment Group, a privately financed company headed by CEO Jason Kothari and chief creative officer Dinesh Shamdasani, both of whom will be co-producers on the film.
You can read all about the story behind Harbinger on the Valiant Entertainment website. You might also recall that Valiant Entertainment and Valiant Intellectual Properties had a dispute over the intellectual property rights to many of the titles formerly published by Valiant and later Acclaim; the dispute was resolved late last year.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:36 am
such great news! Im so happy i cant explain. the world is right when valiant starts getting the focus it deserves. bring on xo and shadowman and rai and magnus and the rest!!
March 11th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Glad to hear about a Valiant property being optioned, but I’m not so thrilled about the involvement of Brett Ratner. All the same, I think it’s wise to be cautiously optimistic…
March 11th, 2008 at 5:32 am
everything valiant entertainment has done so far has been top quality (the patient approach, going back to the classics, the hardcovers, the new story, the creators they have brought in, that website!). i like that they are being involved. I think that is the key to getting this done right
March 11th, 2008 at 6:39 am
You had me until “Brett Ratner”. Why hand over a potential franchise to the most talentless hack in Hollywood? *sigh*
March 11th, 2008 at 7:08 am
I am glad to see a slow roll-out of the return of Valiant Comics and it’s properties. It’s unfortunate that my favorite Valiant character — Magnus, Robot Fighter — can’t be a part of it, but the return of characters like X-O Manowar, Shadowman, and the Harbinger kids would be much welcomed.
As far as a Harbinger movie, I always thought that the property would translate well to the big screen, so it will be interesting to see where this goes from this stage.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I know nothing about this comic, but the words “Brett Ratner” will immediately send me walking in the other direction… X3 was the pits.
Although it looked a lot better once Superman Returns came out.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Anyone but Ratner. Why? WHHHYYYY???
March 11th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I love the Valiant Universe! But I abhor Brett Ratner’s work! What a pickle!
March 11th, 2008 at 10:49 am
If Valiant Entertainment was smart, which they obviously are, they will be bringing on Jim Shooter as a producer (or at least a PAID creative consultant).
This is Jim’s baby, and he’s obviously got the goods to make sure that the translation to screen is as flawless as possible.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Oh, by the way, I really enjoyed X-Men 3. Maybe I’m the only person who did, but I really, really did. If Brett feels like he made some mistakes on X3, I’m sure that he’d take the steps to make sure that he doesn’t make them again. Besides, that movie was tossed around by the studio like a rag doll after Singer left. I think Ratner did a pretty great job under the circumstances and time constraints
Give him another chance.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I always thought an XO Manowar movie would be cool. Or an Archer and Armstrong tv show. But mostly I am psyched for more comics.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I just had a conversation yesterday about how Brett Ratner is completely styleless. I love Valiant, Harbinger deserves better.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
That’s a huge step for VEI. They really are going out on the new Valiant. COngrats Dino! Now where’s the comics? lol
March 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Great news! Wonderful to hear that Valiant’s comeback is already breaking ground in new mediums. Or at least trying to. Not to mention the first word of new comics coming by the end of this year. I don’t know/care about Ratner, but I hope that the film is treated well and done right.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
ratner is a hack!