Few would argue that July 7th belongs to Spider-Man: Homecoming, but over on Netflix, there’s another high-profile release ready to take flight, and it ought to appeal to those old-school gamers pining for some fantastical nostalgia.
Its name? Castlevania, a four-part animated series conceived by Warren Ellis, Kevin Kolde, Fred Seibert, and Dredd producer Adi Shankar. Split across two seasons – the second and seemingly conclusive chapter will air via Netflix in 2018 – Castlevania stays true to the Konami classic in that it follows the disgraced Belmont clan as they rise up against Count Dracula in order to bring peace to Transylvania.
Behind the scenes, Richard Armitage, who famously played the part of Thorin in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, is at the forefront of an all-star voice cast. Armitage has been cast as vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, the man tasked with slaying Vlad Dracula Tepe, while there’s also room for James Callis (Battlestar Galactica) as Alucard, Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha Belnades, and Emily Swallow (The Mentalist) as Lisa Tepes, the wife of Dracula and mother to Alucard. Capping off today’s announcement, McTavish and Shankar also confirmed the addition of Matt Frewer (Orphan Black) as The Bishop and Tony Amendola as The Elder.
All episodes of Castlevania are now available to stream on Netflix. Perhaps Adi Shankar’s project can break the longstanding curse that has loomed over video game adaptations? Either way, the seasoned producer is already beginning to spearhead another little-known animated project by the name of Assassin’s Creed.