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Junji Ito's 'Bloodsucking Darkness' Manga Being Developed as Live-Action Film

Entertainment news source Variety reported on Thursday that Junji Ito's "Bloodsucking Darkness" story is being developed as a live-action film, with writer Jeff Howard (Resident Evil 2021 series co-executive producer, The Haunting of Hill House supervising producer) writing the screenplay and serving as executive producer. Ito himself is a producer on the project. Film studio Fangoria Studios is producing the film.

Tara Ansley, Armen Aghaeian, and Abhi Goel are credited as producers for the film under Fangoria Studios, while Yasu Kutami and Tsubasa Yamaguchi are producers under Amuse Group USA. Phil Wurtzel is executive producer under Friel Films. Kevin Nicklaus, Ryan Lewis, and Joe Riley are also executive producers.

"Bloodsucking Darkness" is one of Ito's many one-shot manga short stories. The story centers on a girl named Nami, who is so obsessed with dieting that she finds herself vomiting blood. She dreams about a world that rains blood, and has founder herself waking up with blood all around her. She meets a boy named Kazuya, who expresses worry about her dieting, and tries to get close to her. The story is available in English in Viz Media's Smashed: Junji Ito Story Collection book.

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, a new anime based on 20 different Ito stories, debuted worldwide on Netflix on January 19. Ito's Uzumaki manga is also inspiring an upcoming four-episode anime mini-series that will premiere in Toonami.

Many of Ito's other works have also inspired anime and live-action adaptations.

Source: Variety (Rebecca Rubin)