Ask John: Is There Some Relation Between Hellsing and Van Helsing?

Question:
Is the upcoming Van Hellsing movie, that I see in gaming magazines, related in anyway to the Hellsing animé?

Answer:
There is no direct relationship between the upcoming Universal Pictures’ film Van Helsing and Kouta Hirano’s manga Hellsing & its anime adaptation. Both the American movie staring Hugh Jackman and the Japanese manga/anime Hellsing are loosely adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, first published in 1897. The character of Professor Abraham Van Helsing is introduced half-way through the original novel. In the original novel, Abraham Van Helsing, who has heard legends about the vampiric Count Dracula, volunteers to accompany protagonist Jonathan Harker on a vampire slaying expedition.

Hugh Jackman’s character in the live action movie is Abraham Van Helsing. In Kouta Hirano’s Hellsing, Integra Wingates Hellsing is a direct descendant of Abraham Van Helsing.

The Bram Stoker Heritage Center estimates that over 700 movies have been based on or adapted from the novel Dracula. Both the upcoming Van Helsing movie, and the Japanese Hellsing series number among those adaptations.