Amazon Studios has announced that they will adapt Hellsing into a live-action film -- and recruiting John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad is a massive step in the right direction. Kolstad is one of the chief architects of the John Wick franchise and a writer on all three entries in the series. Notably, Kolstad is also a writer on the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Kolstad has a great deal of experience working on action-heavy franchises, with the John Wick films even becoming one of the more notable action-series in recent history -- making him a strong choice to bring the Hellsing franchise to live-action.
Hellsing began in 1997 as a manga before being adapted into two different animated series and focuses on the Hellsing Organization agents -- England's premiere supernatural investigators. Commanded by Sir Integra Hellsing, the series primarily focuses on Alucard -- a deadly vampire loyal to the Van Helsing family --, Seras Victoria and Walter Dornez. The Organization finds itself facing off with vampires, ghouls, the rival Iscariot Organization and even a Nazi conspiracy known as Millenium that intends to start World War III with a vampiric army.
Like John Wick, Hellsing will be a high-octane action film, with a singular unstoppable force at the center of the story. If anything, the brutal and bloody world of Hellsing could even provide the opportunity for more massive action than John Wick. Concepts like the Continental -- a major New York City hotel that is one of many bases around the globe for an alliance of assassins -- are indictive that Kolstad is strong at building a new and exciting world and filling it with memorable figures and locations.
Kolstad's expansive storytelling should lend itself perfectly to growing the world of Hellsing, a setting full of dangerous supernatural threats and monstrous armies. His anticipated work on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also suggests he has a talent with group dynamics, meaning the rest of the Hellsing Organization as a whole are in good hands.
Each series centers around a mysterious and violent lead character -- with both Alucard and John Wick sharing impressive skills with firearms, an eye for sleek suits and proving to be seemingly indestructible in combat. While Wick is one of the most dangerous assassins ever born, Alucard instead possesses a great deal of supernatural power -- with the vampire casually reviving himself from significant injuries and overcoming every kind of attack thrown at him.
Much of the enjoyment in both Hellsing and the John Wick franchise comes from the violent anti-heroes fighting their way through impossible odds. Plus, it's likely that Kolstad -- who revealed during an interview with Deadline that he'd been a fan of the supernatural franchise since his teen years -- will be a good fit for figuring out how to bring some of those threats to life.
While his past projects don't necessarily guarantee that Hellsing will be a success, Kolstad's experience makes him a strong choice towards bringing the popular horror/action series to live-action.
