Christmas came early for J-Horror fans with Deadline reporting today that veteran filmmaker Hideo Nakata, the director of the Japanese thriller classics Ring and Ring 2; as well as the DreamWorks remake of The Ring Two, joined producers Roy Lee and Taka Ichise on a live action adaptation of the IDW comics series The Suicide Forest.
El Torres wrote and illustrated the series set in the Aokigahara forest outside Tokyo, reportedly haunted by the spirits of the people who commit suicide in the sprawling woods. The book’s hero, Alan, lost his girlfriend to suicide in the Aokigahara forest and she’s returned to haunt him to the point of madness.
Ted Adams and John Middleton of IDW also joined as producers. No word yet on cast or a screenwriter to adapt the IDW series, although J-Horror fans remain hopeful that Nakata may end up adapting The Suicide Forest in addition to directing.
Nakata is currently filming one of the segments in Words with Gods alongside fellow filmmakers Emir Kusturica and Mira Nair.