The Fast and the Furious star Vin Diesel has officially signed on for the titular role in Sony’s Bloodshot. Diesel was first attached to the project back in January, with the actor said to have been in talks for the role. Now, those talks have finally closed, with Diesel set to star in the film for debut director Dave Wilson, an accomplished visual effects artist.
RELATED: Valiant’s Bloodshot Film, Starring Vin Diesel, Reportedly Films In May
The news comes from Deadline, which revealed the project will also be in the vein of classic ’80s films such as Robocop, Terminator and Total Recall. The studio is moving swiftly ahead, with principal production officially set to kick-off this July. Bloodshot will be produced by Neal H. Moritz (who also served as a producer on Fast and the Furious), as well as Toby Jaffe and Dinesh Shamdasani. Matthew Vaughn and Dan Mintz will serve as executive producers on the project.
Prior to Diesel’s casting, Sony was said to be eyeing Jared Leto for the role. It’s unknown why talks with Leto fell through, but the film is back on track with Diesel confirmed to tackle the role of Angelo Mortalli, aka Bloodshot.
Created by Kevin Van Hook, Don Perlin and Bob Layton, the character made his debut in Eternal Warrior #4. Thanks to the nanites in his body, Bloodshot heals extraordinarily fast, can shapeshift at will and has the ability to hack into computers using only the power of the tiny computers in his bloodstream. Though his mind has been wiped numerous times, Bloodshot also boasts an extreme aptitude for hand-to-hand combat and, as a former soldier, is well-versed in all manner of weapons training.
RELATED: Who is Bloodshot? Vin Diesel’s New Superhero Role, Explained
Bloodshot is set to appear in live-action prior to the self-titled movie, with Jason David Frank playing the role in an upcoming web series entitled Ninjak Vs. Valiant Universe. The product of Valiant Digital and Bat in the Sun, the series is set to debut sometime during 2018 and will feature a number of major characters from Valiant Comics.