Having kicked off production this week, it looks like Sony’s Valiant comic book adaptation Bloodshot is making a quick casting change, with Variety reporting that Guy Pearce is in talks to replace Michael Sheen, who has been forced to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.
Pearce will take on the role of Dr. Emil Harting, a genius who is responsible for developing nanotechnology that can no only repair the human body, but enhance it beyond normal limitations. Said technology is used on the titular Bloodshot (Vin Diesel), a.k.a. Ray Garrison, a mortally wounded soldier who is resurrected and given the task of hunting down superpowered outcasts known as harbingers.
Sony is hoping to use Bloodshot as the launchpad for a shared Valiant superhero movie universe, with the studio planning to follow it up with a Harbinger movie and sequels to both, building to the crossover film Harbinger Wars.
Bloodshot is being directed by visual effects supervisor Dave Wilson (Avengers: Age of Ultron) from a script by Eric Heisserer (Arrival) and Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare), and also features a cast that includes Toby Kebbell (Fantastic Four), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Guy Pearce (The Catcher and the Spy), Sam Heughan (Outlander), Talulah Riley (Westworld), Johannes Haukur Johannesson (Game of Thrones), Lamorne Morris (Game Night) and Alex Hernandez (UnReal).
