Neil Gaiman has signed to pen a film adaptation of ancient Chinese folk tale Journey to the West.
TV producer Zhang Jizhong is behind the epic $300 million (£187m) trilogy project, reports Variety.
No director has boarded the trilogy yet, but Zhang hopes to sign Oscar nominee Guillermo del Toro, who is a friend of Gaiman.
“[Del Toro] has shown a lot of interest but he wants to see the treatment first. Obviously the more celebrated the director, the busier they are,” Zhang said.
James Cameron has agreed to advise the 3D production on script matters and tech issues.
Zhang hopes that half of the funding for the three-film project would come from China with the other half coming from Hollywood. The films will be shot in English and will star an international cast.
Journey to the West was originally written by Wu Cheng’en. The 500-year-old story follows the Monkey King on his journey to India to retrieve Buddha’s scrolls. A monk, a pig spirit and a fish spirit join him on the journey.
Zhang has adapted the story before for a Chinese TV series.
Gaiman, best known for his Sandman comic series, also scripted the films MirrorMask and Beowulf.