EXCLUSIVE: Jared Leto is in talks to star in Sony’s Bloodshot which is based on indie comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment’s IP. The project, which is being produced by Neal Moritz, is being directed by Dave Wilson who is partnered with Deadpool director Tim Miller’s at Blur Studios.

This is the second film from a five-picture deal that was the result of a deal between Beverly Hills-based DMG and Valiant. Sony acquired the Bloodshot series from Valiant back in 2012. The first in the series was Harbinger. It could be the beginning of a powerful franchise for both Sony and Leto.

Leto will see if a deal can be worked out to star as Bloodshot’s protagonist is Angelo Mortalli, a ruthless killer for the mob who is set up by the family and framed for a murder. He instead goes into Witness Protection, but is betrayed by an FBI agent guarding him, kidnapped and forcibly subjected to an experimental program in which his body is injected with microscopic computers called nanites. They erase his brain and rebuild it and his body to be a weapon with superhuman strength and healing powers. The character was created by Kevin Van Hook, Don Perlin, and Bob Layton in 1992.

The film will be produced by Moritz and Toby Jaffe through the Original Films banner and by Valiant’s Dinesh Shamdasani with Matthew Vaughn and Jason Kothari on as executive producers.

Sequels are planned for both Harbinger and Bloodshot before the title characters meet in Harbinger Wars, which is based on Valiant’s 2013 comic book crossover.

Leto is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.

This is the first project post DMG’s big acquisition of Valiant.