Devil May Cry And Castlevania Anime Showrunner Has Acquired The Rights To Duke Nukem

If you thought Duke Nukem as a franchise was dead and gone, then think again. The Duke will be back, just not how you think, as Adi Shankar, who’s helped bring to life Castlevania and more recently Devil May Cry, has acquired the rights to the franchise.

A collage showing Nero, V, Vergil, and Dante in Devil May Cry 5.

Devil May Cry 5 Hasn’t Aged A Day

Because of Netflix’s TV show, Devil May Cry experienced a sudden spike in popularity. We went back to DMC 5 to see if it passed the test of time.

In an interview with Esquire, Shankar revealed that while he’s been approached with multiple IPs, he recently purchased the rights to the Duke Nukem IP from Gearbox, just not the gaming rights.

When asked what his vision for a Duke Nukem adaptation looks like, Shankar had this to say:

It’s a middle finger to everybody. When Duke Nukem blew up, a bunch of people sat around trying to turn it into a brand, when it’s just a middle finger. Duke Nukem can’t be made by a corporation, because the moment a corporation makes Duke Nukem, it’s no longer Duke Nukem. I don’t intend on having anyone tell me what to do on this one.

At the moment, it’s unclear when a potential adaptation of the shooter will be released, as Shankar has his hands in multiple projects, but one thing is clear: he does understand what makes Duke Nukem, well, Duke Nukem.

Shankar Has Quickly Become The Video Game Adaptation Person

Beyond his work on Devil May Cry, which was recently greenlit for a Season 2, Shankar has several other projects in the works, all revolving around video games.

Back in 2017, it was revealed that Shankar would helm an anime centered around the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It’s unclear if that project is still ongoing, but the article does reference it. Elsewhere, Hyper Light Drifter was also announced to have an adaptation with Shankar at the helm. If that wasn’t enough, back in 2021, PUBG was revealed to be receiving an adaptation, also from Shankar.

Which is to say that Shankar is quite busy and has his hands in a lot of projects. With Duke Nukem next on the list, there’s literally no telling what is next.