Talk about a dream pairing for film and TV sci-fi/comic book fans: Guillermo del Toro, the mastermind behind Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy movie franchise, and Battlestar Galactica executive producer David Eick are finalizing a deal to create the new TV series version of The Hulk for ABC, which is being produced by Marvel TV and ABC Studios. It will mark Marvel’s first series project for ABC and ABC Studios since Disney’s acquisition of Marvel last year and the launch of Marvel’s TV division in June. It also marks del Toro’s first TV project. Details of the premise are sketchy but I hear that the series will follow an origin story. In it, physicist Bruce Banner, whose alter ego is the green and raging Hulk, will be in his mid-twenties, less reactive and more energized as the world is still his oyster. Unlike the two Hulk movies, in which the monster was a pure CGI creation, the series will employ a mixture of prosthetics, puppetry and CGI. Del Toro and Eick will break the story for the pilot script together, sharing story and created by credit. Eick will write the script, with del Toro attached to direct subject to his availability. Del Toro will also oversee the designing of the Hulk character, which is expected to draw on previous comic book incarnations, as well as the original 1978-82 Incredible Hulk TV series, with a few wild tweaks on the old look. Because the project is still in its nascent stage and will require a lot of prep work, it won’t be ready for next fall consideration. I hear that Marvel is looking to launch the series following the July 2012 release of The Avengers, which features the Hulk character, so the series will probably be targeted for fall 2012.

jkehbbem,

You had me at Guillermo Del Toro.

(Source: comicbooks)