Hollywood is breaking new ground with its first plus-sized superhero, as a film featuring Faith Herbert, AKA Zephyr, from Valiant Comics’ Harbinger stories gets underway.

According to Deadline, Sony have hired writer Maria Melnik (American Gods) to work on the project. The film is part of a 2015 deal the studio made with Valiant to develop movies from the publisher’s stable of characters. (Sony currently has the Vin Diesel starrer Bloodshot in development.)

Faith is described as “a jubilant, comics-and-science-fiction loving geek who also happens to have telekinetic superpowers”. She first appeared in 1992, as one of the Harbingers, teenage superhero outcasts, and went on to found the Harbinger Resistance to oppose the world-conquering intentions of powerful Harbinger Toyo Harada. No details have yet been released as to casting or plot details.

The project joins the burgeoning list of superheroes catering for a new demand for diversity, in the wake of Black Panther’s record-breaking box office success. Recent projects in development include Ms Marvel, featuring American Muslim character Kamala Khan and Silk, a Korean-American superhero who gains Spider-Man-likepowers.