AceShowbiz -

Vin Diesel may be joining another comic book movie. TheWrap has reported that the Groot of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" film series is currently in early negotiations to join Sony's live-action adaptation of Valiant comics, "Bloodshot".

There is no mention of which character Diesel would play. But it's possible that Jared Leto, who was previously in talks for the lead role, a ruthless mob killer-turned-violent superhero named Angelo Mortalli, passed on the offer, and Diesel is now eyed for the role.

Dave Wilson is attached to direct the sci-fi/action feature project in partnership with "Deadpool" helmer Tim Miller's Blur Studios. The film will reunite Diesel with "Fast and Furious" mega-producer Neal H. Moritz, who is serving as a producer along with Toby Jaffe through their Original Film banner. Jason Kothari and Dinesh Shamdasani of Valiant are executive producing.

Rumor has it, Sony and Wilson plan to follow in the footsteps of the recent success of "Logan" and "Deadpool" with an R-rated take on the comic adaptation that will be tonally and aesthetically influenced by high-concept, sci-fi blockbusters of the late '80s including "Robocop", "Terminator" and "Total Recall".

Described as being, in part, a crime-oriented Frankenstein thriller, "Bloodshot" centers on mob killer Angelo Mortalli who enters a witness protection program. When he is betrayed by a handler, he becomes part of a secret experiment to create the ultimate killing machine. His memories are erased and he is injected with microscopic computers called nanites. Now an unstoppable force, he tries to rediscover who he was while battling both the mob and the police.

"Bloodshot" is part of Sony's attempt to create a cinematic universe out of the various Valiant IP. It is the second film from a five-picture deal between Beverly Hills-based DMG and Valiant. Sony acquired the "Bloodshot" movie series from Valiant back in 2012.

The first in the series was "Harbinger". 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.