Castlevania Nocturne (Image: Netflix)
You’ve seen the original Castlevania release, lived through the endings, and now Castlevania Nocturne is returning for Season 2. Get ready to sink your teeth into Alucard’s return and enjoy his next set of witty one-liners on Jan. 16.
The showrunners released interviews on the blog about how we can expect more one-liners from Alucard and his perspective going into this season. “I think Alucard has seen a lot of Belmonts during his time, but he finds a little bit of annoying joy with Richter,” said showrunner Kevin Kolde in the Tudum interview. If you recall Trevor Belmont and Alucared’s relationship in Castlevania, it was unhinged enough that Sypha Belnades often told them both to get along.
When we last left our new hero group—minus Alucard—they attempted to stop Erzebet from becoming Sekhmet and failed. Erzebet Bathory covered the world in darkness, allowing her vampires to roam freely through France. Maria’s mother, Tera, sacrificed herself to become a vampire to save her. Hopefully, this season, we’ll see Maria’s dragon and more of her magical power. While we see how much of Sypha’s magic ran in Ritcher, we’ll witness more of it and hear the heartbreaking tones of Edoduard’s operatic voice trapped in the body of a night creature.
On that same note, we’ll also see how magic flows with the heroes. Ritcher demonstrates having elemental magic much like Sypha did; Annette draws from voodoo roots, while Tera and Maria utilize a traditional form of magic through summons and portals. While Richter still wields the soul-devouring whip, a game plot mechanic the devs conveniently left out as the wielder dies quickly from use, Alucard identified him because he still has much to learn.
Annette’s journey with Richter and Maria has just begun, but with the end of the first season and the start of the second, she’ll develop into the role required of her with Alucard to stop the unending night. Erzebet hasn’t entirely gained Sekhmet’s power, which gives them time to stop her in season 2. The showrunners promise new, exciting locations like Egypt this season. The attention to detail is astounding.
Showrunner Clive Bradley said Annette’s story was inspired by the Haitian Revolution. “You couldn’t really tell the story of the French Revolution without telling the story of the Haitian Revolution,” he said. Around this time, the French nobles were all overthrown in their colonies by their slaves, leading to a change in dynamics where Kolde suggested the vampires were the French nobles, crafting a narrative compelling viewers to dig deeper. The French nobles, as the enemy in literature and history, aren’t anything new, but witnessing the changes in their colonies is more focused has usually been aimed at France’s overthrow of the monarchy by its people. Stories like Les Miserables and the anime The Rose of Versailles have romanticized the French Revolution. The creators’ change in historical choices gives light to another set of voices of the time.
That’s not all that was promised, though. “What I can confidently say is in store for the fans is the biggest, craziest Castlevania fight scene ever,” Kolde said. If anything, both franchises are known for being gory and dark, with excellently animated fight scenes that promise new things to note in rewatches. The show continues with its criticisms of the church, misinformation and the suffering of others. Deceptions and heartbreak play out across the screen.
The trailer release in December offers insight and a look into how the show changes with the season. Even Alucard hasn’t changed, while the cast around him has. Maria’s magical skill promises we may see more animals than birds and mid-sized mammals, while Annette’s gifts complement Richter’s skills. With all the pain witnessed in the first season, the second season sets the stage for how exactly Erzebet will be stopped and which popular character may have to sacrifice more.
The returning cast of the show are:
- Edward Bluemel as Richter Belmont.
- Pixie Davies as Maria, a strong leader and gifted magic user in the rebellion.
- Thuso Mbedu as Annette, our clever hack-n-slash voodoo-based magic user. As the show revolves around their relationship, we’ll see her bond with Richter change this season.
- Sydney James Harcourt as Edoudard was the fantastic opera singer with Annette’s back at every turn. (Look up Dido’s Lament and see how difficult it is to perform without experience and skill.)
- Nastassja Kinski as Tera, mother of Maria and teacher to magic users and fighters of the rebellion alike.
- James Callis reprises his role as Adrian Alucard Tepes, the son of Dracula and Lisa Tepes and a Dhampir so gifted that his hands are soaked in the blood of vampires and humans alike.
- Zhan McClernon as Olrox, who killed Richter’s mother. The amount of awkwardness from teaming up is one of those tense issues.
- Franka Potente is Erzebet Bathory, the villain based on real-life Hungarian noblewoman Elisabeth Bathory, who was bricked up in her tower on the claims she was murdering virgin women to bathe in their blood. In this iteration of her, she is the vampire queen drenched in blood and ready to take over the world.
- Richard Dormer, Elarica Johnson, Iain Glen and Aaron Neil return to the screen as cast.
Castlevania Nocturne is based on the Castlevania game Blood of Rondo and is a standalone show, kind of like watching Castlevania.
Witness Alucard’s struggles alongside the newest Belmont squad with his vampiric kin and familial bonds (his nickname is Dracula backward if you hadn’t noticed) on Jan. 16.
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