John Wick franchise writer Derek Kolstad has signed on to script a live-action feature adaptation of the Japanese action-horror manga Hellsing for Amazon Studios. Hellsing has previously inspired two separate anime series.
Written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano and published by Shonen Gahosha, the Hellsing manga
reimagines Dracula as Alucard, a special agent bound to The Hellsing Organization, under the leadership of Integra Hellsing, great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Hellsing, to aid them in their mission to protect England and the world from vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural threats. The manga also focuses on Hellsing's newest recruit, a female ex-police officer named Seras Victoria.
Kolstad will be producing the Amazon feature with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Fred Berger of Automatik, Mike Callaghan and Reuben Liber of Ranger 7 Films, and Jason Lust of Soluble Fish Productions. India Osborne, Pierre Buffin, and Jason Speer serve as executive producers with Tetsu Fujimura of Filosophia, while Gemma Levinson oversees the project for Automatik.
Kolstad released the following statement:
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."
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."
Lust said,
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."
Kavanaugh-Jones described Kolstad as "an exceptional writer" who will be "building rich mythology filled with iconic characters" with Hellsing, much like he has done with the John Wick movies.
I haven't read Hellsing or seen the animes, but it sounds like a cool concept and I am a fan of the John Wick films, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.