Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Devil May Cry season 2
Anime Shows Netflix's Devil May Cry season 2 shares new look as showrunner promises an unpredictable follow-up
Christopher Nolan with his Oscars for Oppenheimer
Movies Christopher Nolan says he has "very, very significant concerns" about the Warner Bros. Netflix sale
Dan Da Dan season 2: Okarun and Momo getting ready for a fight during Dan Da Dan season 1 episode 8.
Anime Shows Best anime on Netflix: 30 shows to stream in 2026
Roman Reigns as Akuma in Street Fighter
Action Movies Street Fighter game director teases "very smart" movie adaptation in new behind-the-scenes featurette
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again showrunners took "what worked and didn't work" from season 1 to build season 2
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
Anime Shows New anime in 2026: the biggest upcoming and ongoing shows, including release dates
KPop Demon Hunters still of Rumi and the blue demon tiger
Animated Movies Hideo Kojima says KPop Demon Hunters was "so good" and that he "ended up bawling my eyes out"
Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes in Netflix's 2026 teaser
Netflix Sorry Stranger Things' Conformity Gate truthers, Netflix's big announcement was a 2026 trailer
Wolf in Sekiro: No Defeat
Anime Movies Sekiro: No Defeat trailer is everything I could possibly want from a Sekiro anime
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Resurrections
Action Movies Matrix 5 gets a brand new update from writer and director Drew Goddard
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
Anime Shows Cyberpunk: Edgerunners season 2: Everything we know about CD Projekt Red's anime
The Major in 2026 remake of Ghost in the Shell
Anime Shows Watch out, Crunchyroll: Prime Video is making a play to become the "preferred destination" for anime
A giant face of Rei during the Third Impact in End of Evangelion
Anime Shows Yoko Taro's Evangelion trailer has fans thinking it's a sequel – but not as you know it
Live Action Shows Netflix's Assassin's Creed show will tell an all-new story, but return to a fan-favorite location
News
RPGs Divinity trailer isn't that shocking because it's "not that different from what you see on HBO or on Netflix"
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Anime Shows
  4. Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry producer says he wanted the new Netflix anime to feel "like a Hollywood blockbuster" inspired by The Matrix and Christopher Nolan's Batman

News
By Mireia Mullor Contributions from Ashley Bardhan published 31 March 2025

It's all about "psychological realism"

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Dante in Netflix's Devil May Cry
(Image credit: Netflix)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Netflix's new Devil May Cry anime adaptation was inspired by some of the most iconic Hollywood blockbusters of the early noughties, according to showrunner Adi Shankar.

In an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+ ahead of the release of the show, Shankar mentioned The Matrix and Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy among some of his biggest references while creating this new title in the beloved franchise.

"What I wanted to do with this was three things. First of all, the original anime was very much like a monster of the week-style format, until you got to the last three episodes – then it was an arc. But this one, I wanted it to feel like a giant movie, like a Hollywood blockbuster from between 1999 and 2004. References being The Matrix, Underworld, Bad Boys, Equilibrium – I could go on, and on, and on. But I wanted it to feel like a Hollywood blockbuster, and, really, I wanted the audience to experience Devil May Cry in that mold," he told GamesRadar+.

You may like
  • Devil May Cry season 2 Netflix's Devil May Cry season 2 shares new look as showrunner promises an unpredictable follow-up
  • Christopher Nolan with his Oscars for Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan says he has "very, very significant concerns" about the Warner Bros. Netflix sale
  • Dan Da Dan season 2: Okarun and Momo getting ready for a fight during Dan Da Dan season 1 episode 8. Best anime on Netflix: 30 shows to stream in 2026

Shankar said he made the decision to set the story "in the real world" in order to approach it "with psychological realism". In this sense, another big pop culture reference came to mind.

"It was inspired by Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, because it's Batman – it's the Batman you know, [Nolan] didn't, like, make any wild changes or anything. But he's setting it in the real world, right? It's not in this, like, Tim Burton world. It's not in this Joel Schumacher world. It's not in a cartoon world. It's in the real world," the showrunner explained.

"The reason for that [decision to set Devil May Cry in New York City], actually, is the DMC franchise, at its core, is – the characters are all rooted in tragedy, their backstories are. So, I think moving into the real world allowed that tragedy to become even more relatable and even more grounded in reality, and grounded in psychological realism," he added.

The synopsis for the eight-episode show reads, "Sinister forces are at play at the portal between the human and demon realms. In the middle of it all is Dante, an orphaned demon hunter for hire, unaware that the fate of both worlds hangs around his neck."

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Devil May Cry will arrive on Netflix on April 3, 2025. Check out our Devil May Cry release schedule to know when all episodes drop on streaming, and see our list for the most anticipated new anime coming soon.

If that wasn't enough, we also have guides to the best anime and best anime on Netflix too to keep your watchlist stocked.

CATEGORIES
Netflix Streaming Services
Mireia Mullor
Mireia Mullor
Social Links Navigation
Contributing Writer

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

With contributions from
  • Ashley BardhanSenior Writer

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Devil May Cry season 2
Anime Shows Netflix's Devil May Cry season 2 shares new look as showrunner promises an unpredictable follow-up
 
 
Christopher Nolan with his Oscars for Oppenheimer
Movies Christopher Nolan says he has "very, very significant concerns" about the Warner Bros. Netflix sale
 
 
Dan Da Dan season 2: Okarun and Momo getting ready for a fight during Dan Da Dan season 1 episode 8.
Anime Shows Best anime on Netflix: 30 shows to stream in 2026
 
 
Roman Reigns as Akuma in Street Fighter
Action Movies Street Fighter game director teases "very smart" movie adaptation in new behind-the-scenes featurette
 
 
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
Marvel TV Shows Daredevil: Born Again showrunners took "what worked and didn't work" from season 1 to build season 2
 
 
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
Anime Shows New anime in 2026: the biggest upcoming and ongoing shows, including release dates
 
 
Latest in Anime Shows
anime for beginners
Anime Shows Anime will be "done for" if it focuses on adaptations over original ideas, says Code Geass director
 
 
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Steel Ball Run
Anime Shows JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Steel Ball Run release schedule: when is episode 2 releasing on Netflix?
 
 
Ash cuddling Pikachu after a battle with them both smiling during a scene in Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You!
Anime Shows Ash voice actor rewatched Pokemon's saddest episode and thinks it could be improved: "I think it takes you out of it"
 
 
One Piece
Live Action Shows Netflix One Piece star says there's "incredible pressure" to make new seasons as quickly as possible
 
 
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3
Anime Shows After Jujutsu Kaisen's flowchart-geddon, Yuji's actor says "not grasping" the Culling Game rules is perfectly fine
 
 
One Piece
Anime Shows After One Piece creator dropped the answer to the anime's biggest mystery underwater, iShowSpeed seems set on finding it
 
 
Latest in News
Crimson Desert
Open World Games "My dream game": After 7 hours, Palworld publishing lead delivers his Crimson Desert verdict: "This game is made for me"
 
 
Zoomed-in, cropped box art for Pokemon FireRed shows Charizard roaring.
Pokemon "The biggest time save in nearly a decade of Pokemon speedrunning" has been discovered in FireRed
 
 
Marathon Cryo Archive runners looting
FPS Games Marathon's Cryo Archive is locked to weekends partly because you're going to "lose a lot of gear"
 
 
Arc Raiders Queen
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders devs tortured each other during playtests, juicing Arc into Elden Ring bosses
 
 
A fox shopkeeper has a Lucky Cat figurine on the counter in Piece by Piece
Games Two indie games with the same name accidentally launched days apart, so the devs averted disaster by working together:
 
 
Spider-Man Brand New Day
Marvel Movies Tom Holland compares Jon Bernthal's Punisher to RDJ's Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Shrek
    1
    3 new to Netflix movies I recommend you watch this weekend (March 21 - March 22)
  2. 2
    "My dream game": After 7 hours, Palworld publishing lead delivers his Crimson Desert verdict: "This game is made for me"
  3. 3
    "The biggest time save in nearly a decade of Pokemon speedrunning" has been discovered in FireRed
  4. 4
    Marathon's Cryo Archive is locked to weekends partly because you're going to "lose a lot of gear"
  5. 5
    Arc Raiders devs tortured each other during playtests, juicing Arc into Elden Ring bosses

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...