On May 12th, Netflix is about to give animation enthusiasts a tale of sibling rivalry unlike anything they’ve seen before. Devil May Cry’s second season is planning to take the streaming service by storm later this month, and we here at ComicBook.com had the chance to talk with series showrunner and creator Adi Shankar. Talking about season two, the controversial villain, the future of Dante and Virgil, and Shankar’s upcoming video game, we got to the bottom of the Capcom adaptation’s comeback that expands on a world that sees Earth and the Underworld at each other’s throats.
Shankar is no stranger to the world of video game adaptations, having previously worked on series such as Castlevania, Castlevania: Nocturne, and Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. Even prior to these offerings, Adi wore his love of Devil May Cry on his sleeve, often cosplaying as the son of Sparda. While the first season gave viewers a strong introduction to Dante, season two will mix things up by splitting its time between the former protagonist and his troublesome brother Virgil. To start our line of questioning, we waded into the villain of season two, Arius, who has had a controversial history in the DMC franchise.
For those who might not know, Arius was the main antagonist of the video game, Devil May Cry 2, which many fans have seen as the weakest entry in the long-running franchise. In our discussion with Adi Shanker, the series creator didn’t see using Arius as a story of redemption, but rather, a celebration of the series, “I don’t really buy the narrative that Devil May Cry 2 is the black sheep of the series. I think it had Dante’s best costume! A lot of the gameplay mechanics weren’t fully ironed out, but there was a progression there. Lucai’s a great character. I try not to have a negative opinion of things and I just focus on the things I do like.”
Arius is one of many characters who will be appearing for the first time in season two, with many of the fresh faces being a part of the original video game franchise. In asking Shankar about the balance act of old and new characters, Adi referenced a controversial Marvel film, “Well, you want to avoid a Spider-Man 3 scenario. By the way, I rewatched Spider-Man 3 and this is another thing where there’s a consensus reality because I thought it was pretty freaking great! You could have one hundred characters just randomly showing up in Devil May Cry and they disappear, but you have to have an emotional investment. I’m trying to be the Christopher Nolan of this space, you know, and that man has a lot of discipline.”
Obviously, the long-running sibling rivalry between Dante and Vergil in the series has had many gamers choose a side, but Shankar was remiss to choose a favorite: “I’m a Devil May Cry guy. Just by virtue of the fact that I try to approach all my work with emotional and psychological realism, this version of Vergil has an advantage, thanks to being constantly tested and pushed. That’s part of the conflict here.”
For those who might not be aware of Vergil’s background, rather than living in the human realm, Dante’s brother found himself placed under the wing of the series villain Mundus. Spending most of his life in Makai, it’s clear that Dante’s sibling has seen the physical fruits of living in such a harsh environment. In the game franchise, Vergil has often skirted the line between good and evil, and it seems that will very much continue being the case in Netflix’s big comeback.
Obviously, our line of questioning also touched on the idea of a third season of Devil May Cry, which has yet to be confirmed as of the writing of this article. Shankar didn’t confirm that he would return to Dante’s world, though he did hint at the idea that he has a ‘big picture’ in mind: “You have to believe your best years are ahead of you, that your best show is ahead of you. Your best shot, your best script, and focus on the task at hand. I try to keep the big vision, keep the big picture, and play the game. I’m still playing.”
Surprisingly enough, Shankar revealed that he was busy making a video game of his own, hinting at the trailer’s arrival in the near future, “I’ve been developing a video game and yeah, I’ll have a trailer out in around…two months? People are gonna go, ‘what the??’ I was up for a Game Award last year, actually, and Neil Druckman beat me. So now, I’m gonna body the Last of Us.”
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