Hadida’s Davis Films is lining up a potential manga franchise after acquiring film rights to the iconic Japanese property Golgo 13 from master Takao Saito.

Said to be the longest running manga in history, Golgo 13 was introduced in 1968 and has sold more than 200m books in various iterations and was adapted into two live-action films, two animation features, a television series and video games.

Leed Publishing acts as worldwide representative to Saito’s entire output and negotiated the deal with Tetsu Fujimura at Filosophia on behalf of Davis Films.

Golgo 13, also known as Duke Togo, is an assassin with a strict personal code who operates in a world of intrigue. “We are unbelievably excited about this great property, and the opportunity to bring it to the big screen,” Hadida said. “I have long admired Takao Saito’s great work as one of the top gekiga style artists. We are looking forward to bringing his style sensibilities and this great character to worldwide film audiences.”