Devil May Cry Animated Series In The Works From Castlevania Producer Adi Shankar

There's no "may" involved here – Castlevania producer Adi Shankar really is developing an animated series based on Capcom's hack-and-slash third-person shooter game series Devil May Cry.

IGN confirmed the news on Friday, November 16, further detailing that Shankar told the outlet's Jacki Jing that the Devil May Cry series "will join Castlevania in what we're now calling the bootleg multiverse." 

Castlevania — the animated series inspired by the Konami game franchise of the same name, which Shankar once promised would be "the best f***ing video game adaptation ever made to date" — is currently enjoying every stylish, sinful second of its sophomore season on Netflix. It's unclear for the time being whether Shankar's Devil May Cry series will also call the streaming site its home and Castlevania its neighbor, but the prospect of that happening seems likely. 

Shankar had been teasing the Devil May Cry series for a few weeks before he made the official announcement. Near the end of October, he wrote in a post on his Instagram account that he was "working with an iconic Japanese gaming company to adapt one of their iconic video game series into a series," and indicated that he would reveal what the project was on November 16. TheWrap reported shortly after Shankar's Instagram tease that the gaming company he had teamed with was Nintendo, and that the game series he was translating into a television series was The Legend of Zelda. At the time, a representative for Nintendo stated, "We have nothing to announce on this topic." Now we know that Nintendo wasn't simply being coy with that statement, as all signs now point to a Shankar-backed Legend of Zelda project not actually happening. 

As he mentioned in the initial teaser post from October, Shankar reiterated to IGN that the success of Castlevania opened the door for him to adapt Devil May Cry for television. 

"[It] really over-performed. It did crazy well. We immediately got greenlit for season 3," said Shankar, who also thanked the fans who have responded so positively to the series. "I wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for the fans."

Shankar's Devil May Cry animated series will mark the second project of its kind. Many will recall Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, directed by Shin Itagaki and written by Toshiki Inoue, that debuted on WOWOW TV in Japan and FUNimation Channel in North America in June 2007. Set in the time between 2001's Devil May Cry and 2008's Devil May Cry 4, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series followed the half-demon, devil-hunting private investigator Dante as he carried out various missions and struggled to get himself out of debt. For the most part, it seemed viewers loved the 2007 anime, so it will be interesting to see what Shankar does with his project, how he approaches the world rich with interesting characters and thrilling scenarios, and what audiences will ultimately think of it. 

That Shankar has an important personal connection to the upcoming Devil May Cry animated series signals that, regardless of the spin he'll put on the source material, he means business. In efforts to ensure that the series will be as fantastic as possible, Shankar has acquired rights to Devil May Cry himself "so the jabronis in Hollywood don't f*** this one up too." Investing his own funds into the Devil May Cry series will grant Shankar the freedom to craft the project — and expand the multiverse it now lives in alongside Castlevania — to his every whim. 

Shankar hasn't yet announced when or on which platform the Devil May Cry series will premiere — but since Capcom is gearing up to launch its newest franchise entry, Devil May Cry 5, on March 8, 2019, we'll probably learn more as excitement for the game heats up over the next few months.