DMG Entertainment, parent company of comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment and co-producer of its multimedia adaptations, has steadily been building towards a shared cinematic universe based on its properties.
The first film launching the company's vision of a shared cinematic universe was Bloodshot, released this past March. While the superhero movie was co-produced with Sony Entertainment, rival studio Paramount Pictures picked up the cinematic license to a planned feature film based on the Valiant superhero Harbinger last year. The change in studios raised the question if a shared cinematic universe was possible, with DMG Entertainment Creative Head and filmmaker Dan Mintz confirming one is still in the works while the company plans to avoid the licensing issues between rival studios that plagued Marvel Studios when developing their Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"We're working really hard to avoid that and I think for us, though, the connected cinematic universe is yet to come," Mintz told CBR. "That'll be rolled out after all of this, I think you can't really control what studios do, you have to do your own thing. But I definitely think that the ability to take control and take the wheel like Marvel and DC, and connect the characters, it's really difficult for anyone to do it except [us]. You have to know the material so well and understand how it has to happen. I think Valiant really has to do that, it's a big push for us, but we really love working with these studio partners. They're really great and excited about this content and these stories and how relevant they are."
Ultimately, Mintz sees multiple studios deeply interested in bringing Valiant properties to the big screen as a sign of validation and strong vote of confidence in the material's cinematic potential. It was ultimately Paramount's interest in picking up the license that led to DMG moving the property to the studio.
"The reality is, the fact that Paramount was so engaged to go and get that shows how much people want this," Mintz explained. "It was very validating moment, setting up at two studios already before the first film came out, is very rare so we're very fortunate."
Directed by Dave Wilson with a script by Eric Heisserer (Arrival) and Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare), Bloodshot stars Vin Diesel, Guy Pearce and Toby Kebbell. The film is available for purchase and rental on home video.