Warner Bros. sees ghosts in Bleach, a manga adaptation

Because original scripts and ideas are few and far between in in Hollywood these days, studios are looking for other source material. There’s comics, and books, and the ever-so-easy remake, but instead of keeping it in the U.S., Warner Bros. has decided to go overseas and tap into the manga series BLEACH for a big-time adaptation!

According to THR’S Heat Vision Blog, Warner Bros. and Peter Segal are teaming up to produce the film based on the 9 year running series, which has racked up more than 29 volumes (in the U.S.), not to mention an anime series in Japan (which you can catch in English on the Cartoon Network), as well as a movie and even a stage play. Perfect kind of thing to bring to the Western audience and turn a hefty profit.

So what’s BLEACH about, anyway? Check it: The story centers on a 15-year-old boy who has the ability to see ghosts and meets a female Soul Reaper, a member of an order that escorts the souls of the dead. A fight with an evil spirit causes the Reaper to transfer all her power to the boy, leaving her stranded in the human world and the boy taking over her job as a fighter of evil.

Hells yeah! Sounds like it could be a ton of fun, though I suspect it’ll go along THE LAST AIRBENDER route, and be aimed at kids, starring kids, and rocking a PG-13 rating. But the potential… the potential is there for it to be something more than that, something horror fans and anime fans alike will be into. So it should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Stick around for more on BLEACH as we hear it!