Less Cyberpunk Content than 2019
2020 has plenty of Cyberpunk content set to come out: Of course, the long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 in April September, and then its smaller brother Ghostrunner in August. But those are both video games. What movies are there to look forward to?
Unfortunately, other than the widely-anticipated Season 2 of Altered Carbon, there aren’t a lot of cyberpunk films set to come out this year. One of them you may not have heard of is Bloodshot.
Bloodshot: the Cyberpunk film of March 2020
Due out March 13th in the US and end of February/first week of March in Europe (for the complete list of release dates, since they’re surprisingly country-specific, click here), Bloodshot will hopefully get us our cyberpunk fix for that month, provided you haven’t finished watching Altered Carbon’s Season 2 already.
Comic Book Origins
This is actually a film adaptation of a comic book character of the same name coming from Valiant Comics, a smaller and lesser-known comics publisher similar to DC comics or Marvel. But while DC and Marvel have traditionally focused more on good superheros, Valiant tried to carve out a slice of the market for itself by focusing more on anti-heros, like Bloodshot.
The result that we get is what looks like a slick action-focused flick starring Vin Diesel as Marine Raymond “Ray” Garrison who is reborn by a team of scientists with nanotechnology after his wife is suddenly assassinated. The nanites allow him to become somewhat of a superhuman, with enhanced strength, senses, and healing factor. Originally amnesiac after the operation, his memories start to come back to him as he trains with fellow super-soldiers, until he breaks out to find the man that killed his wife. However, not everything is at it seems.
Check out the first trailer below and see for yourself.
Expectations
Bloodshot is the latest movie set to come out in 2020 that I would deem Cyberpunk enough to warrant the label, although it’s definitely heavier on the action side. We’ll see how much low-life and high-tech elements it actually has. For now it appears rather similar to Terminator, but without the androids and with a dash of Total Recall and Wolverine. It at least has a character with android arms a la Doctor Octopus or reminiscent of Max from Elysium.
Cast
In addition to Vin Diesel in the titular role, it looks like what I imagine to be the main villain will be played by Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3). Jared Leto had been considered for the role, which would have been another Cyberpunk film for him to star in, but ultimately the role went to Diesel. Also cast have been Sam Heughan (Outlander) and Eida Gonzalez
The Role of Bloodshot in Valiant Comics
If you’re curious to learn more about the backstory of Bloodshot and his important role in the lesser-known publisher Valiant Comics, check out this excellent breakdown from Comics Explained below.
I for one am definitely excited for this to come out, especially since I’m a big Vin Diesel fan. But the fact that it just got a PG-13 rating is tempering my expectations a little.
Make sure to check out Bloodshot before it leaves the theaters, and make it something to look forward to.