There have been very few shows that have caused a stir in both anime and gaming communities, and Netflix’s Castlevania was one of them. Often considered one of the best TV adaptations of a video game ever made, Castlevania took the world by storm with its amazing visual style, an immersive and bloody storyline, soulful scores, and an equally scintillating finale. The final season, released in 2021, gave an action-filled and somewhat happy ending to the narrative of Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard, which was based on the 1989 entry Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. However, as longtime Castlevania fans would know, peace isn’t everlasting in the game series’ storyline. On June 11, 2022, Netflix made the announcement at Geeked Week that a new animated spinoff is in the works that will be set in 1792, during the French Revolution. The announcement by Netflix was accompanied by a teaser, and fans were elated to see the character in the clip because their appearance also meant that the new spinoff would be adapting one of the best Castlevania games ever made.
With the forces of darkness once again on the move, another Belmont shall rise to whip them out of existence. So while we wait for the suspense, the drama, and the action to reveal itself in the upcoming sequel, let’s have a look at the plot, teaser, cast, characters, and everything there is to know about Castlevania: Nocturne.
Does Castlevania: Nocturne Have a Release Date?
Unfortunately, no. No release date for Castlevania: Nocturne has been revealed yet ever since its announcement a year ago during Netflix Geeked Week. Fans have been waiting for an update for a really long time, with many speculating the series should be here by the end of 2023. Only time will tell if that pans out, though. In the meantime, all four seasons of Castlevania are available to stream on Netflix, so you can catch up on the groundbreaking animated series with the link below:
Is There a Trailer for Castlevania: Nocturne?
Strictly speaking, Castlevania: Nocturne does not have an official trailer as yet. However, Netflix did drop a teaser trailer during Geeked Week last year, which shows a first look at Richter Belmont in the upcoming sequel series. Have a look at it below:
The teaser begins with the young Belmont lost in his thoughts while holding his iconic demon-smacking whip. Chants of mysterious voices are heard in the background, each trying to turn him over to their side, foreshadowing the inner struggle between good and bad that he will have to face in the series later on. A different voice later cuts in saying, “We’re looking for someone called Belmont”, followed by an evil laugh. His trance is broken by a female voice calling out to him, “Richter!”
The fans were later treated with a second teaser in the same year during Christmas, when the show’s director Samuel Deats took to Twitter to reveal the second protagonist of Castlevania: Nocturne, a teenage vampire hunter named Maria Renard, who will be accompanying Richter Belmont for the majority of his quest.
Who Are the Cast and Crew of Castlevania: Nocturne?
Castlevania: Nocturne will have Kevin Kolde as the showrunner. Kolde also served as the co-executive producer during the run of the original Castlevania series. The creative and writing genius will be the wheelhouse of Clive Bradley; Warren Ellis, the previous writer, and showrunner for the original anime will not be involved. Production of the series will be handled by Project 51 Productions along with Powerhouse Animation.
So far not much is known about the cast members, apart from Sophie Skelton (Outlander) playing Julia Belmont in Episode 1. It is not known who Julia is yet and she might be a completely new character developed for the show, but she is going to share a deep connection with Richter. We might get glimpses of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades in flashback scenes, hence Richard Armitage (The Hobbit movie series) and Alejandra Reynoso (Winx Club) might be reprising their roles. Also, if the animated series follows the storyline of the games, Alucard and Dracula will be returning in the spinoff, and we might hear the familiar voices of James Callis (Battlestar Galactica) and Graham McTavish (Outlander, House of The Dragon) in Castlevania: Nocturne. The voice actors of Richter Belmont and Maria Renard, the only two confirmed characters in the upcoming sequel, have not been announced yet.
What Do We Know About the Plot of Castlevania: Nocturne?
Just like the original Castlevania anime, the spinoff will draw its inspiration from the popular Konami games that pushed Nintendo’s popularity to never-before-seen levels. Castlevania: Nocturne will reportedly be based on two games, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Set in 1792 during the French Revolution, the series will introduce us to Richter Belmont, a descendant of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, who takes on the family business of being a vampire hunter, brandishing the famous Vampire-Killer weapon.
Though an official plot synopsis is yet to be revealed, if we go by Castlevania lore, Richter Belmont begins as a hero in the game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, where he succeeds in killing Dracula and defeating the forces of evil with the help of a teenage girl Maria Renard (a distant relative of Belmont’s and a fellow vampire hunter) and Alucard, who is the immortal son of Dracula who survives over the centuries thanks to his dhampir physiology (it is established in the lore that Dracula resurrects every 100 years). However, in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Shaft, a servant of Dracula, manages to manipulate Richter into falling to the darkness and uses him as a tool to bring his master back to life once again. Alucard and Maria team up to defeat the vampire lord and bring Richter back to his senses. The guilt is overwhelming for Richter, but he eventually gets back on his feet to help his friends destroy more followers of Dracula.
Will Castlevania: Nocturne Have a Season 2?
The lore of Castlevania video games is amazingly vast. The original show itself took four seasons to cover the story of just two games. And given the popularity of the franchise, Netflix would want to keep the anime around for a longer time, which means if Castlevania: Nocturne performs as well as the original series or even exceeds it, we are definitely heading for a second season. The material is there; all it needs is enough people watching the show in its entirety once it releases.
