Guillermo del Toro to direct ‘The Hulk’ for ABC

[HMG Celebrity News] – In news that should have comic book fans dancing jigs in their basements, ‘Hellboy’ director Guillermo del Toro, and Battlestar Galactica producer David Eick are closing a deal to bring The Hulk to your ABC station.

The folks at the Mouse House are being coy about details, but the series is planned as an ‘Origin’ story. Dr. Bruce Banner will be in his mid-twenties, and a blend of prosthetics, puppetry and CGI will then be used to transform him into his raging alter ego – the Hulk.

Marvel owned by Disney, floated the idea of a series to ABC during the Summer, then started the hunt for a writer. Eick then suggested writing it to del Toro, and he loved it. ABC had secretly wanted Guillermo involved, so when the pair pitched their vision to the ABC suits it was a guaranteed sale.

Del Toro and Eick are now working on a script. Eick will write the final draft, then Guillermo will direct – assuming he’s not booked for something else by that time.

The 46-year old director will also be in charge of designing the Hulk character, which ABC wants to be closer to its comic-book roots than it was in previous outings. But they also promise “a few wild tweaks” on other versions.

“I have always been attracted to the combination of comic book heroics and monsters, like Demon or Kamandi, or DC’s Deadman, or Marvel’s Dr. Strange, Metamorpho or Hellboy, etc,” Del Toro told Deadline. “Now we’ve devised a powerful way of retelling the Banner / Hulk story in a fresh way.”

The show is still in the planning stages, but Marvel are aiming for a debut in fall 2012, just after the release of ‘The Avengers’ – which also features The Hulk. And David sounds jazzed;

“I’ve enjoyed the challenging process of revisiting beloved characters,” he said. “The Hulk is one of the crown jewels of the Marvel world, and it was a dream opportunity to join one of my film-making heroes, Guillermo in a faithful retelling of the emotionally-rich tale of one of my favorite comic books.”

You can tell he’s a writer, can’t you?

So whaddya say, guys – With Guillermo on board will this fly or flounder? Let’s take a vote…