Castlevania: The Movie

Warning! This article is about a game or project that either was officially canceled or is rumored to be canceled due to the lack of information for an extended period of time.

Castlevania: The Movie
Developer(s)	Rogue Pictures
Publisher(s)	Rogue Pictures
Director(s)	James Wan
Producer(s)	Steven Paul
Media(s)	Film
Genre(s)	Action/Horror

Castlevania: The Movie was a film project based on the Castlevania series. It was originally to be directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, although that role was later given James Wan.

As of 2009, the movie has been reported as canceled.

Synopsis

A Transylvanian knight leads his men into a haunted castle to seek refuge from the Turkish Army. They end up unleashing Dracula and this starts a generational conflict between the vampire and the Belmont Clan.

Production

On November 2005, Crystal Sky Pictures acquired the rights to adapt the Castlevania video game series for the big screen. The company attached Paul W. S. Anderson to write and direct the film adaptation, with production slated to begin in mid-2006. Later in the month, Dimension Films entered negotiations with Crystal Sky for North American distribution of Castlevania. The film adaptation was estimated to have a budget of $50 million. In July 2006, producer Jeremy Bolt explained that Castlevania would "integrate a Dracula origin story... with the story of the Belmonts." Bolt also said that the film would refer back to early versions of the games. Director Anderson reiterated Bolt's description, adding that Dracula and Simon Belmont would be key characters in the film. Anderson also indicated that the "very lush, Romantic, Gothic look" of the 3D incarnations of the Castlevania series would be used in the film. He also expressed his hope in using the games' composer, Michiru Yamane, to score the film adaptation.

On November 2006, Rogue Pictures replaced Dimension Films, who reneged over script differences, in handling North American distribution of Castlevania, with Crystal Sky Pictures handling international distribution. Paul Anderson described Castlevania as taking place in many time periods, but primarily in 15th Century Transylvania. The director and producer Jeremy Bolt had scouted locations in Hungary and Romania, with plans to build castle interiors in Budapest. Principal photography was slated to begin in spring 2007.

On January 2007, director Anderson said the studio was still finalizing the film's budget, and filming would begin in fall or winter in Transylvania and Hungary. According to the director, the filming was postponed because production had desired snow on the ground for the film's forest scenes. Anderson described the locations, "It was like discovering Mordor as a real location -- epic, dramatic, and above all scary. These locations haven't been shot properly in a mainstream movie, so that is always extra exciting... to put something on camera that hasn't been seen before." The director also revealed that post-production and effects work for Castlevania would be done in London.

On June 2007, Anderson conceded directing duties to Sylvain White in order to take on the project Death Race. White, who played the Castlevania video game in the early 1990s, was attracted to the prospect of filming a vampire film. White explained, "Most of the vampire films have been present or set in the future, from Blade to Underworld and I was attracted by the chance to make a dark, epic period movie that almost has an anime feel to it." The new director, who negotiated a salary of seven figures, will rewrite the script with Anderson's assistance. The premise will involve a Transylvanian knight and his men seeking refuge in a Gothic castle. They discover that the castle is controlled by the original vampire, Vlad the Impaler. The awakening of the vampire leads to a generational clash between Vlad and the Belmont clan, who seek to defeat him. Production of Castlevania is slated to begin in late fall 2007 in South Africa and Romania. Castlevania is planned for a late 2008 release.

On October 2007, Anderson said that he hoped to have a script within two or three weeks before the onset of the 2008 Hollywood strike. Producer Jeremy Bolt said that production was intended to begin in spring 2010.

On December 2007, Rogue Pictures halted active development of Castlevania due to the writers' strike and, later, the sale of the studio to Relativity Media and possibility of a screen actors' guild strike. Despite the shelving, White remains committed to direct the film. On May 27 2009, there was a rumor on the internet that production on the movie was halted. However, it was revealed on July 22 2009, on the horror website Bloody Disgusting that the movie was moving forward and that Saw co-creator James Wan was set to write and direct the movie. Wan intends to put his own spin on the earlier scripts. A few months later it was reported that Paul W. S. Anderson was still circling the project. In 2012, while promoting Resident Evil: Retribution, Paul W. S. Anderson stated that he would like to make it; however, the rights are an issue.

Since 2012, no official information about the movie has been communicated. It is most likely canceled or still in development hell.

Characters

Two separate scripts have surfaced on the internet with different casts. The actual script used in the movie will deviate from these scripts and have Steven Paul's own spin on them.

Characters in early Paul Anderson's Simon-centric script

Trevor Belmont, the very first protagonist to face Dracula.

• Simon Belmont - main protagonist and the second to face Dracula the son of Trevor Belmont according to accumulate story line of the Castlevania series.
• Dracula - Main antagonist. his origins will be explored deeply in the movie.
• Cristofor Belmont - Simon's brother who gets bitten by a werewolf
• Vlas - A loyal Moorish servant to Simon
• Aurica - The lone survivor of a band of gypsies who had been attacked by werewolves. She finds out she looks exactly like Dracula's former lover.
• Weidner - A Nazi who investigates a massacre of soldiers at the hands of Dracula's Castle
• Hengst - Another Nazi who investigates the same massacre with Weidner.

Characters in a later Trevor-centric script

• Trevor Belmont - The main protagonist.
• Christopher Belmont - The brother of Trevor
• Sypha Belnades - Sent to the castle by the church to investigate
• Alucard - Dracula's half-human son
• Mathias Cronqvist - Is a separate individual from Dracula in this film (Is Lord Dracula in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence)
• Elizabeth Bartley - Desires to be favored by Mathias and a succubus in this film
• Leon Belmont - Seen in a mural in the script
• Lucious - A priest or monk sent to the Belmont clan to elicit their aid by the king.
• Dracula - The Dark Lord himself.

Storyline

The following is an early official plotline for the film:

The land of Transylvania has been at peace for 100 years now, and the peasants and villagers have begun to purge their minds of the memories of the times when the lands were dominated by chaos and shadows, and when the undead walked the earth... However, there are those that remember that the evil Count Dracula returns every 100 years to plague the land, bringing with him the forces of Hell... Thus, one evening, the King of Darkness rises and returns to Castlevania, his ancestral home, calling forth his minions to purge the world of human flesh. The people cry out for a hero — someone to defend them from the evil desires of the count.

Thankfully, they don't have to look very far, for within the land of Transylvania the Belmont line still lives, as Simon Belmont, great-grandson of Christopher Belmont, takes up the legendary whip called the Vampire Killer, and sets forth on his journey through the darkened countryside to the dark lord's castle... Upon arrival, the young man fights his way through legions of zombies, gigantic bats, and even faces Death himself, but in the end, he makes it to the Count and in a battle to end all battles, he comes out the victor... The price? The evil master places a curse of death upon Simon, which will lead him into a long and dangerous journey in the near future.

Gallery

2007 Teaser Poster - Tagline:Dracula Begins

Sample Nº1 from the Simon-centered script.

Sample Nº2 from the same script. Of importance is the tagline "Love is immortal".

Sample Nº3 from the same script.

Related products

• Castlevania — The game this movie was based on in an early script.
• Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse — The game this movie was based on in an early script.
• Dracula's Curse Animated Movie — A canceled animated movie project based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, which turned into a TV series.

External links

• Bloody Disgusting - July 2009
• UHM (Web Archive)
• Castlevania at the Internet Movie Database
• GameSpot article (Web Archive)
• Yahoo Movies page (Web Archive)
• IESB.net (Web Archive) - Review of Simon script
• Kotaku - Review of Trevor script
• The Moving Picture.net (Web Archive) - Paul Anderson affirms Castlevania movie still in the works (Dec. 2008)
• Paul W. S. Anderson still circling Castlevania (Web Archive)