Project 51 to Explore Castlevania Storyline
Posted on Friday, August 4 @ 08:53:00 Eastern
Project 51 Prods. has acquired the worldwide animation and related rights to video game series "Castlevania," a popular story of valiants and vampires that sprawls over six centuries with no end in sight.
Eric Gardner of Panacea Entertainment represented Project 51 and its principal Kevin Kolde in the deal and will executive produce all related projects with him. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Konami said that more than 20 million games in the series have been sold. Analysts also credit fan loyalty to "Castlevania" as being instrumental in the success of the Nintendo DS hand-held game system, which exceeded 20 million units sold.
"There is no shortage of story lines," Gardner said. "The mythology created spans about 600 years in the Belmont family, from the 1400s to the present. So there are myriad story lines from which to draw, and we expect to tap that rich vein."
U.S. video game fans have enjoyed the adventures of the Belmont family versus Dracula and his descendants since 1987, when "Castlevania" developer and publisher Konami introduced the Japanese hit to North America.
Project 51's plans include theatrical features, direct-to-video longforms and a television series, as well as original content for wireless and an extensive merchandising operation, he added.
"We'll probably want to do a direct-to-DVD longform first, but we're just starting to have those meetings now," Gardner said. "Probably Phase 2 will be a television series, then a feature film."
Creating different types of projects will make it possible to capitalize on the broad demographic appeal of the property, which until now has targeted teens and young adults, he said.
Kolde has a long career in animation production, including having been general manager of John Kricfalusi's Spumco. He said a formal announcement of the first project will be made within the next two months.
"There's a big story to 'Castlevania,' so for a lot of reasons it would be nice to get into that story even if it's a precursor to a series," Kolde said. "Initially, we think it will be nontheatrical longform, whether we call it direct-to-video or made-for-TV movie."
Kolde said he will be working with Konami's Koji Igarashi, the producer of the "Castlevania" video game series and unofficial guardian of the property's integrity.
"He created this universe and knows it better than anybody else," Kolde said. "Koji Hiroshi has a whole mythology from the first game in the 1400s to 2036. We want it to be true to his vision."
Fan buzz for a potential animated series began in October, when a columnist for ComicBookResources.com spotted an illustration on art director James Jean's Web site. The caption said it was a "Concept illustration for an animated series based on the classic Konami video game, 'Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse,' to be written by RRawen LLies," and that Jean was the art director for the client Project 51.
That speculative teaser finally came to fruition for an as-yet-unnamed project with Eisner Award-winning writer Warren Ellis attached. James, who also has been honored with Eisners, is the art director.
" 'Castlevania' has horror and action, but at its core is a great story about a family that has fought against Dracula for hundreds of years," Kolde said. "We want to be true to the characters and stories that (the fans) enjoy, but we want to bring people beyond the game fans to it."
The next 18 months will be important in "Castlevania's" fortunes. Crystal Sky Pictures acquired the movie rights for "Castlevania" from Konami last year. Paul W.S. Anderson has been announced as director and writer for the picture,scheduled for release next year. Dimension Films has the North American distribution rights.
Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
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