How Loyal Will The Castlevania Netflix Series Be?

As you might have seen, we just posted a story revolving around the debut trailer for Netflix‘s animated Castlevania series. And, yes, we’re excited as hell for it.

The forthcoming series, which looks to be making a debut on July 7th (still waiting on a U.S. confirmation, but that date is very likely), has a lot of great talent behind it, including producer Adi Shankar, whom we spoke with on the project; as well as the famed comic book writer Warren Ellis and the animation team at Frederator Studios, who also brought us Adventure Time. So, needless to say, this certainly won’t be any kind of hodge-podge anime.

But how loyal will the series be to the Castlevania game series? After all, it’s got some very deep lore to work with, especially when it comes to more intricate games in the franchise, like Circle of the Moon and the cult classic Symphony of the Night. We’ve decided to take a closer look at some of the scenes from the recently released trailer, just to see how well they match up with moments from the game.

And, yes, fans, we can say it – you’re definitely in for one hell of a binge session.

A Mysterious Ally (Or Enemy)

It’s hard to tell who this character is thus far, but he appears to be either a helpful ally to the Belmonts, or a rather dangerous foe that’s siding with Dracula. Whatever the case, the attention to the electrical sparks that come from his hands is pretty damn incredible, reminding us a bit of Star Wars‘ Emperor Palpatine (but with, you know, a vampiric touch). We’ll get a better idea of what his character has to offer when the series makes its debut, but we’re betting that he’s some kind of good guy. Of course, you never know in the Castlevania universe…

Another Young Character

Could this possibly be Maria from the classic Turbo-Grafx game Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood? If you recall, that game originally debuted back in the 90’s, and never found a release in the U.S., but it would later emerge as a digital release for the Nintendo Wii system, going for as cheap as $10 — a far less expensive price than what the original game sells for, somewhere in the hundreds. We’ll learn more about this character soon enough, but, yeah, Maria would be a key addition to the cast — weird animal attacks and all.

Speaking of which, we gotta go play more Rondo…

The Powerful Dracula?

Some of the earlier games in the series suggested that the Belmonts would be battling an older — but still just as powerful — Dracula. However, the animated series seems to indicate that we’ll be seeing a much younger version of the character, like the one here who’s forcibly rising from his coffin. Or, for all we know, this could just be a youthful counterpart that’s summoned to take on whoever’s challenging the blood-sucker from the Belmont clan. But having a younger version of Dracula certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing — and it would set the stage for some epic battles down the road.

Spooky, Scary Skeletons

Of course, since Dracula is trying to take over the land, it only makes sense that he produces part of it to be intimidating. In this case, what appears to be an endless field of skeletons, which the main character will no doubt run across over the course of his journey. But are they dead? After all, we’ve seen skeletons in the Castlevania games that pop up and come to life, sometimes even going as far as throwing bones at us. It’s anyone’s guess if we’ll see these guys pop up, but, yeah, expect plenty of undead threats in this series.

Whip It Good

Of course, here’s that traditional member of the Belmont clan (yet to be confirmed who, tho) that has one of the signature weapons that come into play with battling Dracula and his clan of ghouls — the whip! And it appears this one can do a great deal of damage as well, since the trailer reveals that it can actually cut into enemies and make them bleed. Given the power behind that whip, we’re not surprised about the damage it can do. And what’s more, that bloody effect indicates that we’re in for a mature-rated series. Bring on the blood!

Behold, The Castle

The design of Dracula’s castle in the Netflix Castlevania series has an eerie resemblance to designs we’ve seen in the past, namely with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Its architecture is strikingly familiar, and the way that the setting sun hits it just sets the tone for the adventure that lies ahead. How much of this castle we’ll see over the course of this series has yet to be revealed, but, c’mon, it’s called Castlevania, not the Great White Plains-vania. There should be plenty of familiar sights as our hero makes his way in, determined to bring down Dracula.

That’s How You Make an Entrance

One of the final shots revealed in the trailer shows our hero, a member of the Belmont clan, making his way into the castle. And what an entrance it is, as he slowly pushes open the creaky doors, whip in hand, ready to face his adversaries. The setting sun behind him (a familiar sight from the previous castle shot), this guy means serious business when it comes to cleansing the land of Dracula’s evil. Expect plenty of great shots like this in the series, thanks to the talented team at Frederator Studios. And it’ll just get better as the season goes on.

One Last Shot Of The Hero

Finally, if you need yet another dramatic close-up of the hero that will be fighting against Dracula’s cursed army in the Netflix Castlevania series — behold! He definitely has a design similar to some of the heroes in the later Castlevania games, like Simon Belmont in Rondo of Blood. His wardrobe, thus far, also looks quite authentic, right down to that dramatic collar. (Yes, we said “dramatic collar.”) But we’ve only seen a glimpse of what this hero — and his allies — look like, as the episodes of the series, once it releases, will give us a better idea of the detail the team is putting into the project.

Castlevania is set to premiere on Netflix starting July 7th.