Comics
Vin Diesel’s ‘Bloodshot’ Begins Full Casting Process, Adds “Outlander’s” Sam Heughan
Outlander’s Sam Heughan is set to join Vin Diesel in Bloodshot for Sony Pictures, with Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) and Michael Sheen (Underworld) also coming aboard, reports both Variety and Deadline.
Bloodshot is a central character in the Valiant Expanded Universe – a comic book universe composed of a diverse array of thousands of characters embodying a wide variety of genres, tones and demographic groups and over 81 million comics sold. Valiant’s superheroes are ordinary people in extraordinary situations rather than gods and demi-gods; they are complex characters that reflect contemporary society, politics, and diversity of the modern world.
The pic, which marks Diesel’s first superhero film, starts production in July with Dave Wilson directing and Neal H. Moritz producing.
Wilson is a director at Blur Studios, the VFX factory owned by Tim Miller, who directed the first Deadpool and is reviving the Terminator franchise. Sony is hoping to launch a franchise here through the Bloodshot comic universe.
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.