Pilot script submitted last week; creator Urasawa reviewed outline for entire 1st season

Director Guillermo del Toro ( Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Pacific Rim ) updated fans on the status of his Monster television plans at the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Festival this weekend. Del Toro submitted the pilot script to the HBO network last week.

The director said that the planned series will follow Naoki Urasawa's original manga very closely. Urasawa would only give permission for the adaptation if he could review an outline of each episode of the first season. The series would cover the 18-volume manga's story only, with no extra content to increase episode count.

According to the Deadline website, this is the plot of the HBO version:

The thriller is about the worldwide search by a young doctor for the most evil sociopath that has ever lived. He is a 12-year old boy, and the doctor's decision to save his life has unwittingly unleashed a Pandora's Box that leaves the doc battling to stop a plot of mass genocide.

Del Toro and Steven Thompson ( Dr. Who, Sherlock ) wrote the pilot that del Toro will direct if the project moves forward. Angry Films' Don Murphy (live-action Transformers ) and Susan Montford are executive producers along with del Toro. Thompson will serve as a co-executive producer, and Shogakukan — the publisher of the original manga — will be a consulting producer.

Viz published the Monster manga, as well several other titles by Urasawa, in North America. Viz also released the Monster television anime series, and the anime ran on the television channel Syfy in the United States from 2009 to 2010.

Source: Collider via The Fandom Post