MUMBAI: New Line Cinema has acquired the feature film rights to Monster, which is the top-selling Japanese manga comic book series ever. The rights were bought from author Naoki Urasawa.

Monster is a fast-paced psychological thriller that tells the story of a young doctor who saves the life of a little boy - only to find a few years later that the life he saved was that of a brilliant killer. The doctor must then track down the young killer and solve a larger conspiracy.

Monster has previously been adapted into an animated Japanese TV series and has spawned 18 volumes as a manga series. A New Line producer Neil Kaplan said, "Naoki Urasawa is a phenomenal cinematic storyteller, and we're thrilled to have an opportunity to bring this incredible project to the screen."

The film will be produced by Trilogy Entertainment's Neil Kaplan, Pen Densham, and John Watson. The book's publisher, Shogakukan is executive producing the project. Monster is among the most successful comics ever released. It has sold more than 25 million copies in Japan, and also found a staunch following throughout Asia and Europe. In addition to Monster, Shogakukan has produced a variety of books, comic books, animation films and toys including Pokemon.