James Wan Developing Dylan Dog TV Series

Aquaman director and Swamp Thing producer is headed back to the world of sequential art for a TV series based on the popular Italian horror series Dylan Dog. The series debuted in 1986 and has been published regualrly ever since, with reported monthly sales of over 100,000, which would make it a top-selling book in the North American comics market. While it has never caught on the same way with American audiences as it has in Europe, existing stories have been translated into English and published here, first by Dark Horse Comics beginning in the late ’90s and later by Epicenter Comics, starting in 2016. The series features more than 500 stories and sales of more than 50 million copies worldwide.

Dylan Dog has arguably had a bigger footprint in the larger popular culture than it has within the comics market specifically in the U.S. The 1994 Rupert Everett film Cemetery Man was loosely based on the comics, and 2011 saw Superman Returns and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow star Brandon Routh play the title role in Dylan Dog: Dead of Night. Funny enough, Rupert Everett should have been the perfect Dylan Dog. As with Sting and John Constantine, the creators have openly acknowledged the impact of Everett — especially as he appeared in Another Country — on the development of Dylan Dog.

This time around, Wan’s company, Atomic Monster Productions, will work directly with the comics’ Italian publisher Sergio Bonelli Editore to develop the series. Dylan Dog is apparently being developed as a 10-episode live-action series. The comic centers on its titular British paranormal investigator, who takes on cases that usually involved monsters, ghosts, vampires, werewolves and zombies.

“Dylan Dog is truly one of my favorite comic books ever,” said James Wan in a statement. “I was first introduced to the Nightmare Investigator back in high school by my European friends. And though I didn’t understand the foreign text, I easily understood the story through the beautiful artwork, and its loving references to the horror genre. I’m excited to team with Sergio Bonelli Editore to bring this to life on screen.”

Atomic Monster is currently beginning the process of building a writers’ room for the series.

For Bonelli Entertainment, Vincenzo Sarno (Bonelli) and Giovanni Cova (QMI) will be Executive Producers on the series with Michele Masiero and Simone Airoldi. For Atomic Monster, James Wan and Michael Clear will be Executive Producers on the series with Rob Hackett overseeing for the company.