Of all the shows that Netflix has coming to its subscribers, I don't know that many could have foreseen a hyper-violent Castlevania series making its way to the streaming shores. But it's coming, thanks to some extremely talented people, and the first big and bloody trailer has been released. Check it out below!
It's hard to believe that the day will soon be here when Castlevania exists not only as a mostly fantastic series of beloved video games, but also a brutal and brooding streaming series written by comic book icon Warren Ellis. (Admittedly, I'd never specifically connected the vampire saga and Ellis before, but it certainly sounds like a match made in storytelling heaven.) This trailer finally gives future audiences a chance to see what the creative team put together, and I know I'm not the only one who's sharpening daggers and trying out capes in anticipation.
Somewhat surprisingly, this new Castlevania series is coming from the Adventure Time studio Frederator and its founder Fred Seibert, who is executive producing. Finn and Jake would probably be fine in this universe, but they'd certainly stick out, as this animation style is much closer to the slick and rapid-paced anime series and looks way more intense than a lot of the shows that Cartoon Network airs. Even the updated Samurai Jack's blood level wasn't as intense as this, and that's because Netflix can do whatever it wants.
Vlad Dracula Tepe also manages to do whatever he wants, all things considered, and the deadly villain wants to completely wipe out Eastern Europe. Of course, there's one person who can stop him, and he's the final remaining survivor of the once-banished Belmont family. And since we get to see that infamous Vampire Killer whip in the trailer, it seems likely that we'll get to see a few vicious showdowns between Mr. Belmont and Mr. Dracula.
There are, of course, reasons to be skeptical about Castlevania being worth a damn, considering movies based on video games are legendarily some of the worst forms of adaptations imaginable. But even beyond the other names already mentioned, this new show boasts as its showrunner Adi Shankar, a producer known for projects like the super-bloody Power Rangers and Punisher short films, as well as Dredd and the Judge Dredd animated series. He's definitely got the chops to make Castlevania a conversation-starter.
Audiences won't have to wait too much longer to see Castlevania hitting Netflix, as Season 1 will make its debut on Friday, July 7, at 12:01 a.m. PT. To see what else we can look forward to watching in the near future, head to both our 2017 Netflix schedule and our summer premiere rundown.
