Since the rise of the MCU, and the brief but influential period of the DCEU, comic book movies have been predominantly coming from studios like Marvel and DC, but Bloodshot, starring Vin Diesel and Eiza González could have changed the tide under the right circumstances. While Marvel and DC dominated both TV and film spaces, with only a rare exception making it through the cracks, smaller comics publishers hoped to get in on the superhero movie success. The Boys managed to excel in the space in 2019, although the story originally came from WildStorm comics, an offshoot of DC.
Then, in 2021, Amazon secured another hit superhero TV show based on a popular comic brand, Invincible. The animated series proved that even smaller publishers could produce some high-quality shows with captivating characters. But, Hollywood had another shot one year earlier with Bloodshot. The story was originally published as a comic by Valiant Comics, but the movie failed to launch a competing superhero franchise despite the success of other comic book movies.
Bloodshot Could Have Been The Non-Marvel/DC Superhero Hit 1 Year Before Invincible
Bloodshot Had All The Makings Of A Hit Superhero Movie
Bloodshot is an intriguing story about a soldier who dies in action. Following his death, his body is donated to a secret scientific society that hopes to augment, enhance, and rebirth these fallen soldiers. While success is minimal in most cases, there is a breakthrough when Ray Garrison becomes the first successful agent to be fully revived and have his blood replaced with hyper-intelligent nanites. However, that is just where the story begins, and things get far more intense and twisty as secrets are unfurled.
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The movie had a great shot at being a big success. The story was exciting, Vin Diesel is a big action star, Guy Pearce is cast as an untrustworthy CEO, and the action is thoroughly exciting throughout. However, Bloodshot failed to live up to its promising nature, and ultimately struggled to draw audiences away from the competition. But, there are several reasons why the movie fell flat despite the promise of something bigger.
What Went Wrong With Vin Diesel’s Bloodshot Movie
Bloodshot Suffered From Incredibly Bad Luck
Potentially the biggest issue that prevented Bloodshot from being a commercial and critical success, was the fact that it released in the same week as COVID began shutting down cinemas in the US and across the world. Bloodshot debuted in theaters on March 13, 2020, and two days later, on March 15, the country went into lockdown. As a result of the unfortunate timing, the movie was moved to streaming platforms just two weeks after it premiered. This led to an extremely underwhelming box office for the $45 million dollar movie (via Box Office Mojo).
This bad luck, in addition to mixed reviews, and the film competing with two major established studios, meant Bloodshot never really stood a chance. In addition, Vin Diesel was already a pivotal figure in another , the Fast and the Furious, which holds a dear place in the actor's heart. As a result, there was a general feeling that his performance was lacking, with the actor having very little interest in the lines, or the story. However, this was not a consensus as seen by the more positive reviews of the film.
Bloodshot’s Box Office Flop Made A Valiant Comics Cinematic Universe Less Likely
Valiant Comics Cinematic Universe Could Have Been A Superhero Franchise Contender
Despite all of the above, and the struggles that the film faced, there was an intention to have Bloodshot act as a launch pad for a wider universe of superhero films. The character is a figure from the Valiant Comics publisher, and plans for a sequel and connected films featuring other Valiant Comics heroes were put in place. Now, four years later, the news about any plans for a Bloodshot sequel have all dried up (via MovieWeb), with Diesel's attention elsewhere, and the numerous strikes and delays in Hollywood potentially filling the blacks as to why the project has gone radio silence.
Was Bloodshot's Ending Real Or A Simulation?
Vin Diesel gets a measure of a happy ending in Bloodshot, but there's a subtle hint that the entire thing could be just another simulation.
However, the allure of launching a cinematic universe can be incredibly enticing to studios. And when done right, these massive franchises tend to be big earners. It's possible that Valiant will continue to pursue its own universe, but with the delay, Diesel's other commitments, and the incredibly low return from Bloodshot in 2020, it's possible that they may look to another hero to launch their franchise. Meanwhile, Bloodshot's success is now completely overshadowed by other hit shows like Invincible, which managed to get Image comics a foothold in the adapted storytelling space.
Bloodshot
- Release Date
- March 13, 2020
- Runtime
- 109 minutes
- Director
- Dave Wilson
Cast
Toby Kebbell
WHERE TO WATCH
Based on the Valiant Comics character of the same name, Bloodshot follows soldier Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) who is resurrected with superpowers after witnessing the murder of his wife at the hands of mercenary Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell). Swearing revenge, the nanite-enhanced Garrison sets off to kill Axe, even as the scientists who brought him back seek to turn him into their own private weapon.
- Writers
- Jeff Wadlow, Eric Heisserer
- Studio(s)
- Sony
- Distributor(s)
- Sony
- Budget
- $42 million
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