CASTLEVANIA Producer Adi Shankar Says Friends Want Him to Adapt PRAGMATA Next, But He’s Going All-In on Originals
Adi Shankar has built a pretty incredible reputation when it comes to video game adaptations. Long before Hollywood fully realized gamers would actually show up for smart, stylish adaptations, Shankar was already carving out his own lane with Castlevania and, more recently, Devil May Cry for Netflix.
Now that Capcom’s sci-fi action game Pragmata has people hooked, fans apparently already have their dream pick lined up for who should tackle an adaptation. And according to Shankar, his phone has been blowing up about it.
"The amount of people that texted me [I should adapt Pragmata] was concerning," Shankar jokes. "They were like, 'Oh my god, you've gotta do this next!'"
Pragmata feels tailor-made for the kind of high-energy, visually wild storytelling Shankar gravitates toward. The game throws players into a futuristic battle aboard a spaceship where protagonist Hugh and android companion Diana fight off rogue AI forces using a combat system built around coordinated hacking and attacks.
The game has been earning praise for feeling fresh while also tapping into that over-the-top Xbox 360 and PS3-era action vibe. But fans hoping Shankar would jump straight into another Capcom adaptation may want to cool their thrusters a bit.
Shankar revealed: "The next two things beyond Devil May Cry are originals."
That seems to be where his focus is right now. Even with all the enthusiasm surrounding Pragmata, Shankar sounds far more interested in creating something new instead of chasing existing franchises.
"I feel like one of the reasons people are raving about Pragmata is because it's original. It's not a Dead Space reboot or The Last of Us 3," Shankar says.
"I'm very pumped about originals. I think there's room for all of it. [But] the success I've had in the past few years has opened up new lanes for me to do things."
It’s actually a pretty interesting perspective coming from someone who helped legitimize modern game adaptations in the first place. Shankar clearly appreciates what makes Pragmata exciting, but he also seems energized by the idea of building fresh worlds instead of only adapting existing ones.
Still, he’s fully aware that projects like Castlevania and Devil May Cry helped crack open the current wave of game-based movies and shows.
So, despite being "very excited that I was part of the hand that pushed the domino", Shankar sounds ready to spend the next phase of his career experimenting with original stories instead.
In the meantime, Devil May Cry Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.
Via: GamesRadar+