The Big Picture
- Castlevania: Nocturne shifts the action to the French Revolution, featuring Richter Belmont as the last surviving member of the Belmont family.
- Richter inherits the famous Vampire Killer whip and shows off magical abilities similar to Sypha’s spells, adding depth to his character.
- The spin-off introduces a new villain, the Vampire Messiah, and may or may not include the return of fan-favorite character Alucard from the previous series.
Another fictional vampire aims to destroy the world, and just in time for Halloween. This coming Thursday, Netflix will be returning to the world of its critically and commercially acclaimed Castlevania series for the first time since 2021 with the spin-off Castlevania: Nocturne. The original Castlevania was a gem, one of the rare video game adaptations that beat the odds and offered a quality story on its own merit. Its emphasis on unrelentingly graphic horror and devastating pathos backed by nuanced scripting, exemplary characters, and astonishingly atmospheric animation from the underrated Powerhouse Animation Studios showcased the artistic heights the medium is capable of. The unlikely friendship between co-protagonists Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso), and Adrian Tepes/Alucard (James Callis) won audiences over the most — a meeting of opposites who made each other stronger when they united. The final season ended things as happily as possible for the trio, but nothing can stay peaceful in Castlevania’s grim world. Castlevania: Nocturne features a new cast of characters and a very different setting than its predecessor. But the Belmont legacy lives on through Trevor and Sypha’s descendant, Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel): a legacy that involves fighting vampires, family trauma, and a ridiculously badass whip.
Who Is Richter Belmont in ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’?
Unlike the first Castlevania, which took place in the 1470s in Wallachia, a Romanian region near Transylvania, Castlevania: Nocturne opts to shift the action to the French Revolution. The year is 1792, just over three centuries since the events in Wallachia. Richter Belmont, a direct descendent of Trevor and Sypha, finds himself following in his parents’ footsteps in more ways than one. Just like Trevor, Richter grapples with being the last surviving member of the Belmont family. The trailers indicate Richter is suitably tormented by this fact, as well as the trauma of being part of a family that makes it their business to slay vampires. That, too, is a natural reaction; Trevor, a snark-ridden and sour-faced antihero prone to bouts of drunkenness, had to work through no shortage of despair before proudly embracing his family’s legacy.
Richter also seems to wield the famous Vampire Killer whip, a centuries-old weapon passed down the Belmont line from hunter to hunter. The trailer teases plenty of human/vampire conflict, the kind of gloriously stomach-churning yet innovatively choreographed violence fans have come to expect from Castlevania. It says something when your gore is designed so expertly, it becomes beautiful. But don’t expect the Belmonts’ influence to entirely dominate the story. Richter shows off some swanky magical abilities that resemble Sypha’s spells. Hopefully, Nocturne will highlight both sides of his bloodline, because Sypha was a gift to the world and magic combined with Belmont training would form a formidable foe. There’s no indication that Trevor or Sypha themselves will appear in flashbacks, especially since they’re several centuries separated from Richter, but their influence is already palpable.
As for the rest of Richter’s deceased family, the cast list includes Sophie Skelton as his mother, Julia Belmont. In the final trailer, a vampire menaces Richter about Julia. Between that exchange and Richter’s status as a man without a family, fans can infer something nasty happened to Richter’s parents. Those Belmonts just can’t win — but a high death toll tracks. The primary plot of the Castlevania video game series is the Belmont protagonists battling Dracula again and again across the centuries, and that conflict includes many casualties.
How Will ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Continue the Belmont Story?
Instead of regurgitating the Belmont versus Dracula plot, however, Nocturne sets Richter against the villainous Vampire Messiah, an enemy determined to cast the human world into literal eternal darkness. Richter will be accompanied in his quest to stop the self-proclaimed Messiah by Maria Renard (Pixie Davies), a young French revolutionary and a distant cousin of Richter’s if Nocturne keeps to the games’ canon.
In fact, how faithful Nocturne will or won’t be to the Konami video game series affects how obvious its ties to its progenitor Netflix series will or won’t be. The first four seasons of Castlevania adapted the game Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse in tone and spirit if not to exact plot detail, and that creative freedom worked to the show’s advantage. The expanded lore, detailed characterization, and brooding worldbuilding proved phenomenal. In the games, like Trevor before him, Richter was one in a long line of Belmont protagonists. He first appeared in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood as well as its direct sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Both games were highly regarded by critics and fans; Richter returned in multiple additional games and became one of the Castlevania franchise’s most popular and recognizable characters. He enters the Netflix Castlevania world with an existing legacy and established story beats — but in a delightful twist of fate, it’s this new Richter who has to live up to the television series’ reputation.
Nocturne showrunner Kevin Kolde and writer Clive Bradley have kept the finer plot details a secret, but it’s obvious from the trailers that Nocturne is shaking up Castlevania lore. Nocturne and Rondo of Blood share the same year (1792), but Nocturne jumped several countries over to incorporate vampires into the French Revolution. It’s a brilliant move that offers interesting possibilities, especially since Maria Renard and Annette (Thuso Mbedu) will appear in Nocturne.
The ‘Castlevania’ Games Might Influence ‘Nocturne’s Story
In Rondo of Blood, Richter teams up with both Maria Renard and Alucard to battle a resurrected Dracula (Graham McTavish in the Netflix series). Symphony of the Night turns the tables and sees Richter fall prey to the manipulative machinations of Shaft, a dark priest who influences Richter into helping Shaft resurrect Dracula a second time. Alucard then replaces Richter as the main protagonist, waking from another one of his long naps to investigate what happened to the Belmont heir and why his father’s causing trouble again. Richter’s guilt-ridden once he’s restored to his senses, but the trio of Richter, Maria, and Alucard defeat the vampire ruler. Richter and Annette marry and continue the Belmont bloodline, which in turn continues the theme of children restoring and reinventing their family’s legacies.
With Nocturne introducing the Vampire Messiah and Dracula’s surprise happy ending in the Castlevania series finale, it’s unlikely the world’s most famous vampire will return for Nocturne. Although it’s game lore, recycling the Netflix Dracula as an enemy seems reductive. But it’s not impossible. What makes more sense is the return of Alucard, given his heavy presence in Symphony of the Night. Nocturne‘s official cast list didn’t include James Callis’ name, but Kevin Kolde and Clive Bradley might be keeping Alucard’s involvement under wraps. Alternatively, they might not incorporate Alucard at all, preferring to let the angsty half-vampire rest while they pursue an original story.
Behind the scenes, the Castlevania sibling directing duo of Sam and Adam Deats have returned to shepherd the spin-off. Their influence on the original series can’t be overstated, and their careful guidance will make Nocturne a beautiful watch no matter what story unfolds. Having said that, I’m still hoping for Alucard. (And why not throw in a flashback to Trevor and Sypha’s happily married life while we’re at it!)
Castlevania: Nocturne premieres September 28 on Netflix.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
