Rumored way back in early May of this year, it’s finally been confirmed that a new series is coming based around The Human Vapour (1960). As mentioned by AV Watch, the program will be a joint venture between Toho, WOW POINT and Netflix, where the program will eventually become available for streaming.

Directed by Shinzo Katayama, the upcoming Human Vapor series will be written by Yeon Sang-ho and Ryu Yong-jae. Yeon Sang-ho, who will also act as an executive producer on the show, says it was Toho who approached him about the idea of remaking the 1960 film as a new series.

The Human Vapor series will star Shun Oguri, who appeared in Lupin the 3rd (2014) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and Yu Aoi, who headlined Hana & Alice (2003). The two previously acted together way back in 2001 for the made for TV movie Ao to Shiro de Mizuiro.

The English title for the upcoming series appears to be simply “Human Vapor”, as noted in a Tweet. The Japanese title for the show is “ガス人間” (Gasu Ningen), which is shorter than the Japanese title for the original film which was ガス人間第一号 (Gasu Ningen Dai Ichi Go).

There is presently no release date for the show.

About The Human Vapour

Originally directed by Ishiro Honda, the premise was an original concept by screenwriter Takeshi Kimura that became a 1960 film. It features a librarian, played by Yoshio Tsuchiya, who transforms into the titular creature. With his new found powers, he begins to exploit them to steal for the benefit of his love interest, Fujichiyo Kasuga who is played by Kaoru Yachigusa.

The concept was popular enough that it was revisited as a stage version at the Theatre Creation starting in 2009. It’s an image from that stage performance, in fact, that’s used for the main image on this article.