Adi Shankar has built a track record turning video game franchises into successful animated series for Netflix. After establishing himself with multiple seasons of Castlevania alongside Konami, he moved into broader adaptations with Ubisoft's Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. His latest project, Devil May Cry, debuted on Netflix in 2025 with strong audience reception, and season two dives deeper into Dante and Vergil's fractured relationship following a family tragedy that set them on opposing paths.
The series explores how their divergent perspectives shape their fates and the world around them, grounding the stylish action franchise in genuine character drama. Shankar's success with Devil May Cry demonstrates what works when adapting games with strong narrative foundations. The creator brings narrative weight to source material while preserving the visual identity and tone players expect.
With FromSoftware's Bloodborne receiving film treatment, Shankar's approach offers lessons for that project's development team. Bloodborne thrives on atmosphere, cosmic horror, and environmental storytelling rather than explicit plot exposition. Its strength lies in cryptic lore, visual design, and player interpretation. A Bloodborne adaptation needs a filmmaker willing to commit to ambiguity and dread over exposition dumping. Shankar's Castlevania work proved that anime adaptations can expand on game narratives without diluting their essence. He respects source material while giving writers room to develop characters and motivations the games only hint at.
For Bloodborne specifically, this means avoiding the trap of over-explaining the Hunter's Dream or overly clarifying Paleblood's nature. The film should embrace mystery. Shankar's success stems from understanding that game players and viewers engage differently with stories. Animation allows for the kind of visual storytelling Bloodborne demands, where a single shot of the Healing Church