This might be many day old news by now, but it is worth mentioning in the wee hours of a Tuesday morning. Saw director James Wan is in final talks to direct the live-action adaptation of the Konami video game Castlevania.
The story, follows the battle between Dracula and the Belmont clan of vampire hunters in a labyrinthine fortress in the Carpathian mountains, has been in development for quite some time, having been passed from Paul W.S. Anderson to Sylvain White in recent years. The addition of Wan brings almost no added pedigree, as he has not been commercially successful since he made a smash with the first Saw movie. Although in fairness, his latest film Death Sentence wasn’t all that bad, despite what the bulk of reviewers had to say.
Just yesterday, Wan updated his MySpace Blog with a comment, as well as changing his profile picture to a piece of Castlevania art:
“I haven’t blogged in awhile, and I will keep this short. Yes, for those that who have been asking, it has been announced that CASTLEVANIA is one of my next projects. It’s still early on, but I’m truly excited about this project, and i think it will allow me to showcase aside of my film-making that I love – designs and visual. The world of Castlevania is so rich and beautiful, coupled with a great premise and lush characters…I’m honoured to be shepherding this.”
Sounds like he’s playing it safe by mentioning that it’s still early on, even though it clearly is. The good news is that he appears to have a bit of passion for the project and as we know from his previous work, he’s a solid visual director. That could make for a solid Castlevania film, if it happens.
What do you think of James Wan taking on Castlevania?