The classic Vampire Horror manga is Coming to the big screen.
Amazon Studios will be collaborating with screenwriter Derek Kolstad to adapt the classic horror manga into a live-action movie.
Derek Holstad is best known for writing on the John Wick franchise. His other works include Just Cause and The Package and most recently The Falcon and the winter soldier.
Kolstad has expressed his excitement in being allowed to adapt the Hellsing series saying:
“Ever since my brother introduced me to the Hellsing manga and anime some years ago, I’ve been obsessed with adapting it. And when Mike Callaghan and his team managed to secure the rights to then partner us up with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Amazon, I mean -damn, dude- this is a dream.”
Mike Callaghan had this to say in his statement:
” I’ve always loved the vampire genre, especially when a creator is able to put their own unique spin on it, so when Derek introduced me to Alucard and the Hellsing Organization, I knew we had something special in that tradition.
Kouta Hirano’s gonzo reimagining of the Dracula-Van Helsing mythology is an exhilarating, quirky mashup of action and horror that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before.
We are incredibly excited to partner with Brian and Fred at Automatik and that Amazon is on board to help us bring the wit and madness of Hellsing to life on screen.”
If you aren’t familiar, Hellsing is a Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It was serialized in Young King OURs from May 1997 to September 2008 and chronicled the efforts of the mysterious and secret Hellsing Organization as it combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes who threaten England.
Dark Horse Comics who publishes the Manga in English describes the story in the following manner:
“With supernatural horrors haunting the streets and preying upon humanity, the shadowy Hellsing Organization fights back against hell’s minions. And Hellsing has a secret weapon in their arsenal: the vampire lord Alucard, whose terrifying powers are needed more than ever as an army of the undead marches on London beneath the banner of the swastika!”
The movie will be produced by Kolstad himself, along with Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger, Ranger 7 Films’ Mike Callaghan (who secured the film rights), and Reuben Liber, and Soluble Fish Productions’ Jason Lust.
There is no news on the release date yet but we will be following this story closely so stay tuned.