While the world may never get a proper cinematic sequel to the glorious mayhem that was Dredd, we can take some form of comfort in the fact that producer Adi Shankar is going to continue making dark and extremely violent projects based on previously existing fan favorite media. The next property he’s targeting is the classic horror video game Castlevania, which he’s turning into a (you guessed it) dark and extremely violent anime-style miniseries. We’re definitely sinking our teeth into this.
Shankar took to social media to make the announcement, throwing a couple of extremely promising names into the mix. (Even though he misspelled one of them.)
Breaking News: I’m producing a super violent Castlevania mini-series with my homies Fred Seibert and Kevin Klonde. It’s...Posted by Adi Shankar on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Shankar, also known for producing films like The Grey and Killing Them Softly, is working with Frederator Studios’ Fred Seibert and Kevin Kolde, two of the people behind such awesome projects as The Cartoon Cartoon Show, The Fairly OddParents and Adventure Time. That’s an amazing team-up, to say the least, and the fact that Frederator already has the Castlevania rights acquired means Shankar won’t have to go the unofficial route in adaptation that he’s gone with past projects, such as the Punisher: Dirty Laundry short film or that gritty-as-hell Power Rangers short.
So what will this miniseries be focused on? Only one of the best games in the series, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. To be expected, it takes place in a world where Count Dracula and his army are taking over Europe, and it’s up to Trevor Belmont and his Vampire Killer Whip to handle things. Unlike the previous games, Belmont had some help in this sequel from three other playable characters, which should help in populating the animated series. I can’t wait to see the pirate Grant Danasty leaping all over the place, and I’m really hoping the voice actors they get are top notch.
Shankar later told Collider that the goal here is “to bring hard-hitting anime to America,” and that the project will be influenced by Akira and Ghost in the Shell, among other things. (Of course he’s going to name the classics.) As well, Shankar wants to keep the musical score in the heavy metal realm that the early Castlevania games utilized, though it’ll probably a bit more complex than what 8-bit chips could allow.
Although the Castlevania games are hit or miss these days, an animated adaptation sounds perfect, especially if it makes vampires seem relevant and scary again, something that the shortlived NBC series and Dracula Untold didn’t do so well. It’s unclear at this point whether Shankar’s version of Castlevania will find a home on TV or online, but we’ll definitely yell about it from atop the castle walls when more develops.
