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Manhwa-Based Priest Film Has 2D Animated Prologue
posted on by Egan Loo
Scott Charles Stewart, the director of the live-action film loosely inspired by Min-Woo Hyung's Priest horror manhwa, told the Ain't It Cool News website that there will be a "2D animated prologue to the film." Stewart added that the prologue will be an R-rated look at "the war between man and vampire throughout history, and how that leads us up to the beginning of our movie." The director will announce the prologue's production staff "shortly." The film will open in the United States on August 20.
The film stars Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Da Vinci Code), Cam Gigandet (Twilight, The O.C.), Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III, Live Free or Die Hard, King of Fighters), Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, The Bourne Supremacy), Stephen Moyer (True Blood, The Starter Wife), Lily Collins (90210, The Blind Side), Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), Brad Dourif (The Lord of the Rings, Deadwood), and Mädchen Amick (Twin Peaks, Gossip Girl).
The manhwa tells the story of an expert in ancient languages who accidentally resurrects an angel from Hell, Temozareal. The man is forced to sell his soul to the Devil in a attempt to correct his mistake. Cory Goodman (The Brood) wrote the movie adaptation's script. According to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the film version "is set in a world ravaged by war between man and vampire."
The North American publisher Tokyopop announced in 2001 that it had acquired the original Priest manhwa. This August, Tokyopop will publish Priest: Purgatory, an original graphic novel that will bridge the original manhwa and the film.
[Via ICv2]
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