Draft:Hellsing (film)

Hellsing is an upcoming American dark fantasy horror film, written by Derek Kolstad. It is a live-action adaptation of the manga series of the same name, by Kouta Hirano.

Premise
Hellsing 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."

Development
On December 31, 2012, Dread Central reported that David S. Goyer will direct an adaption of Hellsing, with Asim Ahmad writing and portraying the role of lead protagonist, Alucard; with Jake Sharp, Ana Johnsson, and Daniel Bernhardt portraying Alexander Anderson, Integra Hellsing and Walter C. Dornez, respectively. Dread Central also revealed that production company, Solar Eclipse Films, purchased the rights to Hellsing after a five-year process, with plans to begin pre-production in early to mid 2013. However, Goyer stated that he is not involved in a Hellsing film and has not been approached about such a project, whilst describing story as a "fabrication".

On March 4, 2021, Deadline.com reported that Amazon Studios would be bringing Kouta Hirano's manga to the big screen, with Derek Kolstad penning the script, while Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, Mike Callaghan, Reuben Liber, Jason Lust, and Kolstad would be producing the piece. Kolstad explained that he had become obsessed with adapting Hirano's Helling after his brother had introduced him to the manga and the anime television series. Additionally, Kolstad stated that Callaghan and his team eventually secured the rights of Hellsing to then partner them all up with Kavanaugh-Jones and Amazon. Callaghan remarked that he adores the vampire genre and especially admires it when a creator "is able to put their own unique spin on it." Callaghan also revealed that Kolstad was the one who introduced him to Alucard and the Hellsing Organization, whilst stating that "[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 [Kavanaugh-Jones] and [Berger] [...] that Amazon is on board to help us bring the wit and madness of Hellsing to life on screen." Producer Kavanaugh-Jones spoke highly of Kolstad, to which he stated "[Kolstad] 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.", to which Lust added "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."

Marketing
After the article Deadline.com published, on X, Hirano retweeted the announcement, to which he later added "Make the following abbreviations Hollywood." Additionally, Young King OURs official X account also retweeted the Deadline article. Jouji Nakata, the voice actor of Alucard in the anime and OVA, expressed his excitement for Kolstad's adaption, though added he wishes for the story of the manga to be fully realized without any changes made. Across X in Japan, the news started a wildfire and soon hit #1 on trending in Japan after the announcement, which received mixed feelings from both fans of the West and East alike due to the popularity of Hellsing as a series itself. Shōnen Gahōsha, the publisher of the Hellsing manga series, published an article of the announcement shortly after.