‘Devil May Cry’ Netflix Creator Adi Shankar Promises to Make Faithful ‘Duke Nukem’ Adaptation Fans Will Like

In a surprising move, Adi Shankar, the creator of the Devil May Cry series on Netflix, has revealed that one of his next projects will be a Duke Nukem adaptation. According to the DMC and Castlevania producer, he plans to deliver a faithful take on the crass ’90s game mascot that fans “will like.”

‘DMC’ Netflix Creator Is Working on ‘Duke Nukem’ Next?

In a June 18 interview with Esquire, Adi Shankar discussed his recent work on the DMC Netflix series. However, fans of the animation were surprised when the writer revealed that he had acquired the rights to Duke Nukem. “I got video games in production. Obviously more Devil May Cry. I’m being approached with different IPs and companies that want to work with me. I bought the rights to Duke Nukem. Not the gaming rights, but I bought it from Gearbox.”

When asked what his vision would be for a modern Duke Nukem series, Shankar said that corporations had failed to make previous adaptations work due to not understanding the source material. “It is 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.”

Shankar didn’t confirm a timeline for when we could see his version of Duke Nukem, although he did say he had “video games in production,” so it could be one of those projects. The Castlevania producer has also been pretty vocal about making the series on his social media account. So, while his move from DMC to Nukem might be surprising, it seems like a project he’s pretty passionate about.

It Will Be A Faithful Adaptation of The Source Material

Even though there is still a lot we don’t know about Adi Shankar’s Duke Nukem, he has already given us some interesting hints about what we can expect. For starters, he was pretty adamant in his interview that the project would need to be a “middle finger.” Which means it will likely be packed with edgy humor. He also clarified that he wouldn’t let anyone tell him “what to do” with it. All of this sounds pretty spot-on with how the original games were presented.

On social media, a fan asked Shankar to not ruin the Duke Nukem adaptation by cleaning it up. In particular, the user didn’t want the series to censor the adult content and violence that fans have come to expect from the first-person shooter games. Adi Shankar responded to the request. “Since we are friends I will make a version that I know you will like!!!”

It should be pointed out that a “faithful” adaptation can also mean many things. For instance, one could accurately depict Duke Nukem’s humor with modernized themes and a new story. Shankar has also been pretty open about being a fan of “bold reinterpretations.” So, it’s hard to say how faithful the new series will be. Regardless, it appears the Devil May Cry Netflix creator is at least set on faithfully capturing the spirit of Duke Nukem, which might be divisive to some modern audiences.