Harbinger and Faith : What’s Known About These Sony Films ?

Harbinger and Faith : What’s Known About These Sony Films

Harbinger & Faith Sony Films / DMG Entertainment Coming Soon !! The multi-industry media giant DMG Entertainment has recently invested $300 million in several different industries, acquiring intellectual property which will keep its production and distribution divisions busy over the next decade. The Chinese company also entered the virtual reality industry in 2017 with the launch of DMG VR.

One of the acquisitions during this spending spree was comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment. This has helped to kick-start the move from producing comic books to developing movies and TV shows based on some of their 2,000 characters.

The fiercely loyal Valiant fandom have been supportive in this move, and are looking forward to the first release in the Valiant Cinematic Universe which will be Bloodshot, screening in 2020. But what about the other films in production?

What is Harbinger?

For the uninitiated it’s probably best that we start with what the films are actually about, starting with Harbinger.

It centers around the storyline of a psiot (code word for mutant) named Toyo Harada who has unlocked all kinds of powers such as telepathy, telekinesis and even the ability to activate others super powers.

When he meets another psiot in Pete Stanchek (Sting) he tries to develop a group known as the Harbinger Foundation where he uses his followers to covertly take over the world, in order (in his eyes) to protect the world from destroying itself.

But once Pete realizes that the Foundation is responsible for killing his best friend, he leaves along with girlfriend Kris Hathaway to from the Renegades, a fellow group of Harbingers set on destroying Harada and his Harbinger Foundation.

Other characters found on both sides of the so-called “Harbinger Wars” include: Faith Herbert (Zephyr), Charlene Dupre (Flamingo), John Torkelson (Torque), Amanda Mckee (LiveWire), and Edward Sedgewick (Stronghold).

If you are noticing the similarities to X-Men, then you’re right, the storylines are not a million miles apart, although the way the story develops is quite different.

What Do We Know About the Film’s Production?

Harbinger is part of the original Sony movie deal brokered in 2017, and its slated to be the second film of the Valiant Cinematic Universe. There’s no release date confirmed yet, however it is likely to be at some point in 2021.

Once piece of concrete news that we can confirm is that Director Justin Tipping has signed on to the project with help coming from Joshua Beirne-Golden.
It is rumored that they are now moving onto the casting phase, with Dylan O’Brien tipped for the lead role of Pete Stanchek (Sting) who already has experience of starring in blockbuster movies such as the Maze Runner franchise.

What About Faith?

As mentioned above Faith Herbert is one of the main characters from the Harbinger series. She is perhaps the first known “plus-size superhero” and is a self-confessed sci-fi nerd. She has some interesting super powers, including the ability to fly and create force shields.

Faith loses her parents in a car crash and is brought up by her loving grandmother. She does not realize her abilities until she meets with Pete (who has the ability to unlock psiot abilities of others) and is recruited to the Harbinger Renegades by Pete as Zephyr.

What Do We Know So Far About Faith’s Production?

As this movie is likely to be at least three years down the line, the details are a little sketchier about this movie.

However, what we can confirm is that writer Maria Melnik (American Gods) is working on the screenplay and production will come from Neil Moritz (Fast and Furious) but there is no news as of yet on who will direct.

This is also the case when it comes to who will play the titular character. There have been strong rumors surrounding Beanie Feldstein (Lady Bird), however Shannon Purser (Stranger Things) has expressed an interest in the role.

Jody Houser, who writes the Faith comics for Valiant has been campaigning for the slot to be “a breakout role for an actor who hasn’t yet had their break”. Only time will tell who will end up filling the shoes of one of the most highly-anticipated female leads in years.

Wrap Up

Many have praised Sony for making a film based on a lead female character who doesn’t fit into the conventional Hollywood image of a woman and it will be interesting to see who they cast in the role (and whether they will appear in Harbinger first).

Harbinger looks to have gained some serious momentum over the last few months, with directors, producers and writers now attached to the project. It should only be a matter of time before we find out major casting appointments and a scheduled release date.

 

 

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