Heavy metal icon GLENN DANZIG is set to step behind the camera once again, this time to direct a film adaptation of his own medieval horror comic "Hellmask," according to a new report.
The DANZIG and MISFITS founder originally published "Hellmask" through Verotik, the horror-and-erotica comics imprint he launched in the 1990s; the story debuted in the company's 30th-anniversary issue in October 2023. The comic is described as a "violent supernatural tale steeped in gothic atmosphere," set against a brutal medieval backdrop "filled with dark magic, armored warriors and massive bloody battle scenes" — fertile territory for a filmmaker whose music has always traded in the macabre.
Producing the project is writer-director James Cullen Bressack, known for genre titles such as "Fortress" and "Survive The Game." The film is reportedly in casting now, with production scheduled to begin in August 2026. No cast members have been announced yet.
The move continues DANZIG's expanding career as a filmmaker. In 2025 he released "Death Rider In The House Of Vampires," an Italian-styled spaghetti-western-meets-vampire hybrid featuring Devon Sawa, the late Julian Sands and Kim Director. Danzig has been candid about the demands of directing: "The director's got the hardest job," he said previously. "People come to you with wardrobe, sets, casting; pre-production is insane."
For a musician who built one of metal's most enduring aesthetics — equal parts horror-movie poster and occult ritual — a gothic medieval bloodbath feels like a natural extension of the DANZIG universe. With production targeted for later this year, "Hellmask" could become the most ambitious visual statement yet from one of heavy music's great horror obsessives. Further details, including casting and a release window, are expected once production gets underway.