MUMBAI: Watch out Spiderman, Superman and Batman. The superhero universe just got bigger. Valiant Entertainment has secured an undisclosed nine-figure investment from Chinese entertainment company DMG, the co-producers and co-financiers of Iron Man 3. The investment will be for feature-film financing as well as publishing, television and licensing opportunities.

DMG chief executive officer Dan Mintz said, “Comic superheroes are profitable and highly sought intellectual properties for film franchises so taking a stake in the last indecent massive comic universe is a strategic investment for DMG that will produce movies and TV that are both appealing and relevant to a global audience.”

Current projects under development at Valiant include Shadowman, Bloodshot and Archer & Armstrong. Bloodshot is in development with Sony Pictures and Neal Moritz's Original Film (producers of the Fast and the Furious and Jump Street franchises). Shadowman, with a script by J. Michael Straczynski, and Archer & Armstrong, being written by Bendavid Grabinski, are also in development.

In addition to developing films for release in the United States and China, Valiant and DMG will develop the former’s characters for new audiences in China and the Asia-Pacific region. DMG and Valiant will also be pursuing Chinese licensing for Valiant properties beyond film in publishing, animation and theme parks, as well as toys and apparel.