New Castlevania Netflix Series Almost Completely Changed Richter Belmont’s Backstory
For a second, it seemed like Netflix was going to completely change Richter Belmont's Castlevania backstory.
A new Castlevania anime series is in the works at Netflix, which should come as no surprise considering the success of the first show and how well received it was by fans of the video game franchise. With its four-season Castlevania series, the streamer did the impossible: produce a video game adaptation that is not only faithful and respectful to its source material but is also entertaining and unique in its own right.
Indeed, one of the secrets to the series’ success is that it added layers of complexity to stories that had previously only been told in pixelated form on 8-bit and 16-bit consoles. Netflix’s Castlevania not only explored new facets of iconic characters like Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard but it gave their stories added historical context, placing them right in the middle of Game of Thrones-like power struggles of the land of Wallachia during the Middle Ages.
Now, Netflix hopes to do the same with the next series, which stars a whole new generation of vampire hunters living in France during the French Revolution. At the center of this story are Richter Belmont and Maria Renard, two beloved characters who first appeared in 1993’s Rondo of Blood for the PC Engine, a title only available in Japan until it was finally ported over to the PSP in 2007.
The game, which takes place in 1792, follows 19-year-old Richter, who enters the castle of a resurgent Dracula (he is resurrected every couple of generations in the Castlevania universe) to rescue his beloved Annette after she’s kidnapped by one of the vampire lord’s minions. While making his way through the castle, he frees Maria Renard, a 12-year-old orphan who has magical abilities.
Since 1792 was a key year in the real-life French Revolution, it’s likely that the new series will adapt some of the events of Rondo of Blood. That said, when Netflix first announced the new series on Twitter, the streamer set off alarm bells for some fans when it mistakenly introduced the Richter in this adaptation as the son of Trevor and Sypha.
Fans of the series know that this would have been the kind of change that would have completely shifted Castlevania lore, switching around members of the Belmont family tree in order to draw a more direct connection between Trevor and Richter. After all, Castlevania season 4 ends with Sypha expecting Trevor’s child. But in the games, Richter is a very distant descendant of Trevor and Sypha’s offspring, with hundreds of years between the two generations.
Of course, before Netflix posted a correction confirming that Richter was not Trevor’s child, it was already pretty easy to dismiss the original announcement as an error. Trevor and Sypha’s adventure takes place in the late 1400s, while Richter is active in the late 1700s. If Richter were the son of Trevor and Sypha, that’d be a hell of a lifespan.
So, as it stands, Richter is where he’s supposed to be on the timeline, set to pick up the fight against Dracula centuries later.
The new series will reunite some of the key creatives responsible for the success of the first adaptation. Sam and Adam Deats are back to direct, while producer Kevin Kolde and new showrunner Clive Bradley will lead the series. One member of the original creative team not mentioned in the announcement is writer Warren Ellis, who reportedly exited Castlevania season 4 after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than 60 women.
No release date has been set for the next Castlevania series, but we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
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John Saavedra is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den of Geek. He lives in New York City with his two cats.