As his untitled Justice League Dark feature simmers on the back burner, Guillermo De Toro has his sights set on another comic book adaptation far more sinister. Deadline reports that the director of Hellboy and The Devil’s Backbone (seriously, go preorder that new Criterion edition yesterday) will produce Naoki Urasawa’s 18 volume serial killer manga Monster for HBO.
Monster centers on a German neurosurgeon named Kenzo Tenma who discovers a young boy he once saved (at great personal loss) has grown up to become a savage killer. Then, this is the guy who brought us Pluto (a personal favorite I rank up there with Preacher) and 20th Century Boys, so it’s a lot more complex and creepy and messed up and German and Japanese than all that.
Del Toro will direct a pilot he’s helped develop with writer Steven Thompson, a name that inspires a little less excitement. Thompson’s notable for some Sherlock and Doctor Who credits, but not necessarily the ones you’d want. He’s responsible for “The Blind Banker” and “The Black Spot.” And we’ll leave it there.
This project’s been in the works for quite some time, once in consideration as a feature film at New Line. I actually took in a guest lecture by Josh Olson (A History of Violence) back in college cough years ago, when he was working on a feature film treatment for Monster. Given the length of the original series (admittedly breezy compared to some other manga), the HBO route should allow for a lot more breathing room and even more chills.
Del Toro and Urasawa on HBO? Two great tastes I hope will taste great together. We won’t let that Spot of bother bother us too much.
