Spike TV—which had previously announced a two-hour TV movie based on the
Blade movies and Marvel Comics franchise—has given the green light to 13 hours of the vampire drama as a TV series from New Line TV,
Variety reported.
Batman Begins writer David Goyer, who also wrote the three
Blade movies, will executive-produce the series, along with show runner David Simkins, Marvel Entertainment principal Avi Arad and New Line's Jim Rosenthal and Jon Kroll. Goyer wrote the two-hour TV movie pilot with comic author Geoff Johns, the trade paper reported.
Spike president Doug Herzog committed to the show just months after taking the helm of the network, hoping to make it the cabler's premiere drama launch, the trade paper reported.
Kirk "Sticky" Jones (F/X's
Over There) stars as the title half-vampire warrior who fights to save the human race from a demonic underworld. Jill Wagner, Neil Jackson, Nelson Lee and Jessica Gower also star. Peter O'Fallon directed the pilot. Wesley Snipes played the title character in the movies.
The two-hour pilot will kick off the series as a movie event this June. Production on the remaining 11 episodes will begin this spring.
