Corona | Coming Attractions

Paramount Pictures will develop a movie based on the Valiant Entertainment comic book series Harbinger with Rush Hour trilogy and X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner attached to helm the movie. In a press release issued by Valiant the company stated that Ratner was seeking another superhero property to develop as a new film franchise. Having been a fan of the original Harbinger comic book, Ratner joined forces with Valiant. "Brett Ratner is the ideal choice to bring Harbinger to life on the big screen, as he is not only one of Hollywood's hottest directors but has been a fan of Valiant Comics for many years," said Valiant Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani who will also serve as a co-producer on the movie along with Jason Kothari. Ratner, Alexandra Milchan and Jay Stern will have full producer status on the film which may be shinged under Paramount's MTV Films branch.

Once one of the highest-selling comic books during the early 1990s, Harbinger's swift rise to the top of the industry's popularity charts was matched only by its plummet into cancellation. Created by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, Harbinger followed the exploits of a group of superpowered teenagers on the run from a Japanese businessman who seeks to attain control of the world by controlling the growing population of gifted adolescents dubbed Harbingers. After attracting huge attention for its novel promotional campaigns as well as stories that recalled the Silver Age of comics, Valiant become a casulty of the early '90s comic book speculator bubble when sales plummeted in the later part of the decade. Video game publisher Acclaim bought Valiant in 1994 but couldnt' ride out of the bad times; the company sold off its rights to all of Valiant's stable of characters in 2005 to pay off its outstanding bills. In 2007 Jason Kothari led a group that purchased the Valiant library and created Valiant Entertainment, with one of the goals being to resurrect the Valiant properties in comic books as well as other additional media. "We are delighted to be working with leading partners in Paramount Pictures and director Brett Ratner on Valiant's first film deal," commented Kothari, now CEO of Valiant Entertainment, in the press release. "The future for Valiant's library of superhero franchises in film and other mass media is very bright."

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