Guillermo Del Toro Teams with HBO to Bring Manga "Monster" to Life

Deadline got the scoop earlier today that acclaimed film-maker Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim, Pan's Labyrynth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army) has teamed up HBO to bring Naoki Urasawa's 18-volume manga, "Monster" to life.

Del Toro will co-write the story with Steven Thompson, best known for his work on Dr. Who andSherlock. Thompson will write the pilot, which del Toro intends to direct. 

Sounds like a good team. I love "Sherlock"; not too big on Dr. Who though. "Monster" is described by some as a very stylized world, being a fairy tale meets noir pulp, which is a perfect fit for Del Toro.

The thriller is about the worldwide search by a young doctor for the most evil sociopath that has ever lived. He is a 12-year-old boy, and the doctor’s decision to save his life has unwittingly unleashed a Pandora’s Box that leaves the doc battling to stop a plot of mass genocide. 

 Obviously no word yet on a release date or any casting info; but with such a huge network like HBO getting into the manga game, and Del Toro's anime influenced Pacific Rim hitting theaters, could we be seeing more major Hollywood interest in manga? We all know AKIRA and Neon Genesis Evangelion were kicked around for a while; but the projects were too ambitious and risky for their studios to go ahead with.

Stay posted for more info as the series develops.