Death Ray Films and Maya Entertainment are joining forces to bring the Dark Horse comic book about an undead masked wrestler, El Zombo Fantasma, to the big screen in a live action feature film.  Along with David Wilkins, Kevin Munroe, who is one of the principals of Death Ray Films, created El Zombo Fantasma for Dark Horse Comics in 2005.  Munroe, who has considerable experience in animation thanks to stints with Disney, Warner Bros., The Jim Henson Company, and Nickelodeon, is perhaps best known as the director of the 2007 CGI feature film TMNT from Imagi Entertainment.  Munroe will write and direct the film with his Death Ray Films’ mates Chris Patton and Robert Sanchez producing.  Wilkins and Munroe will co-produce, while Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson will serve as an executive producer.

El Zombo Fantasma is the saga of the murder of a famous Mexican wrestler, who bargains his way back out of eternal damnation by promising to play guardian to a troubled teenage girl.  El Zombo is a new sort of superhero, who is described by Sanchez as a “Latino Hellboy.”  The creators of El Zombo have extensive plans for the character. If the live action film works, they are hoping to continue chronicling the undead masked wrestler’s saga in an animated series.

The 88-page El Zombo Fantasma graphic novel has a cover price of $9.95.