Guillermo del Toro to co-write trilogy of vampire novels

Since the Potter-likeTwilight craze, vampires have been popping up in every media form—copycat novels, remakes of Swedish monster movies, and most recently in the awesome new HBO series True Blood. The trend is undeniable, especially now that it's even jumping genres: Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro—known for the screenwriting and direction of offbeat, intensely visual movies that showcase the fantastic—has signed on with HarperCollins to complete a trilogy of vampire novels.

The first, to be titled The Strain, will hit the bookshelves sometime next summer. The series-in-progress will be the result of a collaboration between the Pan's Labyrinth director and crime author Chuck Hogan, whose credits include The Blood Artists, Prince of Thieves and The Killing Moon.

The story takes place in New York City, where a virus begins to transform the populous into creatures of ancient descent. In a statement released by William Morrow, the HC imprint publishing the vampire project, del Toro said, "The trilogy advances in unexpected ways and each book contains unique and surprising revelations about the history, physiology and lore of the vampiric race, tracing its roots all the way back to its Old Testament origins."

Del Toro's experience with the subject matter is limited to his 2002 vampire film Blade II. This will be his first novel and only publication, but one of many commitments. Variety has the veteran director booked through 2017: He's currently at work on The Hobbit for New Line and MGM and then will return to his home studio Universal for the next several years with remakes of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Slaughterhouse-Five in development.  

Related links:
News: Guillermo del Toro will see you in 2017
News: Guillermo del Toro directing The Hobbit: confirmed
Review: Hellboy 2

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