Vin Diesel is unquestionably one of Hollywood’s most famous action stars, from playing Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious film series to his time on the XXX and Riddick movies. Diesel has now carved out a new corner in his action-packed lineup of work with Bloodshot, based on the Valiant Comics character of the same name.
When the time came to start putting Bloodshot together, director Dave Wilson took steps to ensure that Vin Diesel’s portrayal of the eponymous character stood out enough from the actor’s past action roles. As Wilson put it:
I think any actor wants to do something different, right? The Fast series is larger than life. So they’re borderline superheroes already. There is definitely a want to push beyond just punching a guy through a wall. Because Don’s run through a wall before. So there was always a desire to make sure we were pushing something beyond the realms of his other characters. I mean, Xander, Dom, Riddick, they’re on all the threshold of being ‘superheroes’. So it was very much how do we make sure that he’s portrayed at a level beyond that.
Dave Wilson has a point. When it gets to the point that Dominic Toretto run through a wall or lift a car (he’s even shown catching a car in the F9 trailer), one can easily classify that Vin Diesel character as almost reaching full superhero status. With Diesel having played so many other characters capable of incredible feats no mere mortal could live through in life, that makes it harder for Ray Garrison, a.k.a. Bloodshot, to come off looking special.
So as he explained during his recent appearance on the ReelBlend podcast, Dave Wilson did his best to ensure that Bloodshot was in another “realm” compared to who Vin Diesel has played in past action movies. Now it goes without saying that when you have someone who’s resurrected and enhanced with nanotechnology, that’s already a good step forward with presenting this individual as extraordinary, but Wilson nonetheless wanted to ensure that it was clear to the audience that Bloodshot is a true superhuman, not just someone close to that level.
You can listen to ReelBlend’s full interview with Dave Wilson about Bloodshot below.
After he and his wife are assassinated, Bloodshot follows Ray Garrison being brought back to life by a team of scientists. In the process of being turned into a superpowered killing machine, Ray initially forgets about his old life, but after remembering the man who killed him and his wife, he breaks free to seek revenge, only to discover a larger conspiracy at work.
Joining Vin Diesel on the Bloodshot cast are Eiza González, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell, Guy Pearce, Lamorne Morris, Talulah Riley, Alex Hernandez, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Tamer Burjaq. This marked David Wilson’s feature directorial debut, and Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer wrote the screenplay.
Bloodshot is now playing in theaters, and feel free to read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie. Don’t forget to look through our 2020 release schedule to see what movies are arriving later in the year, or you can learn what movies have recently been delayed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
