Movies & TV / News

John Wick Writer To Adapt Hellsing For Live-Action Film

March 6, 2021 | Posted by Joseph Lee
Hellsing

Deadline reports that John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad is set to adapt the Japanese manga Hellsing into a new live-action feature film for Amazon Studios. It will be produced by Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger, Ranger 7 Films’ Mike Callaghan and Reuben Liber, Soluble Fish Productions’ Jason Lust and Kolstad. Executive producers include Gemma Levinson for Automatik, Tetsu Fujimura of Filosophia, India Osborne, Pierre Buffin, and Jason Speer.

Kolstad said: “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.

The series was originally written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano and published by Shōnen Gahōsha. In it, Dracula goes by the name of Alucard and is a special agent of the Hellsing Organization, led by Abraham Van Hellsing’s great-granddaughter Integra Hellsing. They protect the world from vampires, ghouls and other evil forces, aided by the newest recruit, former police officer Seras Victoria. It was adapted twice into anime. The first, Hellsing, ran for thirteen episodes from 2001-02. It was followed by the OVA series Hellsing Ultimate, which followed the manga more closely and ran from 2006-2012 with ten episodes.

Callaghan added: “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.

Kavanaugh-Jones said: “Derek is an exceptional writer and we are so excited to partner with him on what he does very best – building rich mythology filled with iconic characters.

Lust stated: “I’m truly excited to work with this stellar team together with Amazon to realize a post-modern reinterpretation of the Dracula character that flips him on his head in an inventive and compelling way.

article topics :

Hellsing, Joseph Lee