Paramount Pictures'Â Harbinger film has found its director.
According to Deadline, Wes Ball will helm the Valiant Entertainment adaptation from a script by Andrew Lanham. Ball is perhaps best known for directing the Maze Runner trilogy, and he was at one point set to direct an adaptation of Mouse Guard before the project was scrapped by Disney after its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. He'll also be rebooting the Planet of the Apes franchise under the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios.
Created by Jim Shooter and David Lapham, Harbinger debuted in 1992 and centered on a group of super-powered misfit teens such as Toyo Harada, Peter Stancheck and Faith Herbert, otherwise known as "Harbingers." The series ran for three years under Valiant Comics and was revitalized under Valiant Entertainment in 2012.
As far as a film adaptation, Harbinger's road to the big screen has been arduous. Paramount acquired the movie rights in 2008, but in 2015, Sony Pictures announced a five-film Valiant Cinematic Universe, which would include Bloodshot and a Harbinger Wars crossover. Those plans hit a snag in 2019, when Harbinger moved back to Paramount, despite the Vin Diesel-starring Bloodshot already being a few months away from its theatrical release with Sony.
While a cast for Harbinger has yet to be announced, Maze Runner star Dylan O'Brien was at one point being considered for the role of Stancheck, with Noah Centineo and Beanie Feldstein's names being floated for Joe Irons and Faith, respectively. With Ball now attached, it remains to be seen if a Maze Runner reunion for him and O'Brien is in the cards.
In either case, Harbinger marks Ball's second opportunity at a big comic book adaptation after the aforementioned Mouse Guard. Shortly after the film was canceled for reportedly being too big of a financial risk, Ball released a nine-minute concept video to show fans what could've been. "The following is a collection of tests that explore the visual potential of a Mouse Guard movie," he explained at the time. "Everything you see here is rendered in realtime using Epic's UNREAL ENGINE. Basically what you're watching is very good looking previz, with environments capable of streaming live to stage during motion capture with our actors. While the visual quality is impressive, it's important to note this is only meant to illustrate how the movie will 'feel' not how it will 'look.'"
Source:Â Deadline