The Vampire Hunter D franchise is experiencing a resurgence with the announcement of a new Western comic series and a planned theatrical re-release of the 2001 film Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.
Dark Horse Comics is set to launch Vampire Hunter D: Fortress of Blood, an original story penned by Chris Condon and illustrated by Filipe Andrade. This new miniseries is not an adaptation of Hideyuki Kikuchi's novels but is set within the established post-apocalyptic universe of Vampire Hunter D. The creative team also includes colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Frank Cvetkovic. The first issue's main cover is by Andrade, with variant covers from Riccardo Federici and Yoshitaka Amano. The official summary for the first issue describes a vampire lord marshalling forces against human settlements, with a family defending an old fortress as a last stand. Wandering the same path is D, the half-human, half-vampire hunter. Vampire Hunter D: Fortress of Blood #1 is scheduled for release on December 16.
Additionally, GKIDS has announced that Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust will receive a theatrical re-release in 2027, marking the film's 25th anniversary. While specific details about the release date or potential 4K Blu-ray availability have not yet been shared, the return of Bloodlust to theaters could generate renewed interest in the franchise. Previously, an anime project titled Vampire Hunter D: Resurrection was announced in 2015, but its development appears to have stalled, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These developments mark a significant new chapter for the long-running series, which originated as a series of Japanese light novels and has seen limited exploration in other media since the release of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.