Devil May Cry Showrunner Says Season 2 Is Like the Difference Between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

If there’s 1 happening Adi Shankar wants to impressment upon fans astir the upcoming 2nd play of Netflix’s Devil May Cry, it’s that the animated bid is getting bigger. Much bigger. So overmuch truthful that Shankar is comparing it to the gulf betwixt 2005’s Batman Begins and its 2008 sequel, The Dark Knight.

“Season 2 is conscionable way, way, mode bigger successful presumption of scope and scale,” Shankar tells IGN. “So it's the quality betwixt Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. That's the comp. Or Halo 1 and Halo 2, wherever successful presumption of conscionable standard and scope - orders of magnitude bigger and larger. And the code is conscionable wholly antithetic connected apical of that. The code is very, precise different, truthful it cuts deeper.”

That was the main takeaway from our caller speech with Shankar, the creator and showrunner of Devil May Cry and the godfather of the alleged “Bootleg Multiverse” that ties the bid unneurotic with chap Netflix projects Castlevania and Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.

Having travel to presumption with his demonic practice successful Devil May Cry Season 1 and flooded the White Rabbit (Hoon Lee), Johnny Young Bosch’s Dante is acceptable to measurement afloat into a larger and much colorful world. And conscionable successful time, too, due to the fact that he’s discovered that his long-lost member Vergil (Robbie Daymond) is inactive alive. The instrumentality of Vergil changes everything for Season 2.

Watch this exclusive caller teaser trailer for Devil May Cry Season 2:

Dante’s Evolution successful Devil May Cry Season 2

Season 1 ended connected a amazingly acheronian enactment for the upbeat demon huntsman Dante. Though helium managed to decision the White Rabbit, Dante recovered himself imprisoned and locked distant by the demon-hunting bureau DARKCOM, portion countless guiltless Makaians suffered nether their caller imperial overlords.

It’s fortunate that Netflix renewed the bid for a 2nd play past year, oregon other fans mightiness person been near with rather a bummer of a cliffhanger ending. Though, arsenic Shankar explains, helium was ne'er that acrophobic astir whether he’d beryllium capable to proceed his story.

“I conscionable person mode excessively overmuch self-confidence. It's astir to the constituent of delusion. So I was like, ‘Oh, that's ne'er going to happen. We're good,’” Shankar says. “I besides admit that this is simply a delusional self-confidence… So these things don't participate my mind, due to the fact that my doctrine present is to conscionable power the controllable. And thing that's retired of my control, I conscionable don't adjacent fto it into the thought process.”

“He's not a quality that is fueled by revenge. He's not Batman.“

As acheronian arsenic Season 1’s ending is, Shankar says that fans shouldn’t needfully expect Dante to dwell connected his betrayal oregon embark connected a quest for revenge. He’s a antheral with a beauteous singular goal, and that extremity is uncovering his brother.

“He's not a quality that is fueled by revenge. He's not Batman,” Shankar says. “I'm not saying that he's not going to effort to get revenge oregon that helium isn't, but I think… that if there's an inciting incidental that made you the idiosyncratic you are, it involves your long-lost brother. … We're conscionable approaching this with intelligence realism oregon affectional realism, which has been benignant of the thesis of my show.”

Shankar continues, “I look astatine these things arsenic films breached up into chapters. But erstwhile you look astatine this film, it's been approached with intelligence realism. Really, what he's doing, if you benignant of look astatine it, is the existent conflict that he's trying to face close present is his ain loneliness. If you look astatine the halfway symptom the quality of Dante feels, it's loneliness and helium lacks the tools to articulate it. So what helium wants is what helium mislaid arsenic a child, which is simply a feeling of family.”

Shankar’s thesis astir Dante is that gamers respond truthful powerfully to the quality due to the fact that helium embodies a benignant of juvenile mentality and vigor they tin place with. Dante is simply a quality who refuses to turn up. And astatine the extremity of the day, isn’t gaming each astir escaping the pressures and realities of being an big for an hr oregon 2 astatine a time?

“I deliberation what makes that almighty is it's not that he's refusing to turn up due to the fact that he's Peter Pan. It's refusing to turn up due to the fact that he's gone done things that would've destroyed anyone else,” Shankar says. “So he's combated the acheronian successful his beingness with light, and that airy presents itself arsenic making airy of situations.”

None of this is to accidental that Dante doesn’t turn arsenic a quality successful Season 2. Season 1 was each astir forcing the quality to travel to presumption with the information that he’s the half-demon lad of the legendary Sparda. Having accepted that revelation, Dante is amended capable to determination guardant successful Season 2. He’s nary longer truthful conflicted astir his heritage.

“I tin safely accidental it's little of a conflict successful Season 2,” Shankar says. “I deliberation successful Season 1, helium was a quality who hadn't truly been tested because... we were gathering the youngest mentation of Dante that had ever been presented successful an audiovisual format. There's a greater level of comfortableness successful presumption of stepping into who helium really is, some emotionally and besides successful presumption of conscionable the skillset and whatnot. I mean, you guys saw the reloading clip. This is simply a dude who knows what's up now.”

Dante and Vergil: Brothers Reunited

Again, the biggest alteration with Devil May Cry Season 2 is that Dante present knows his member Vergil is inactive alive. The summation of this 1 quality to the premix changes everything astir the series.

“This is wherefore it's a completely, wholly antithetic show,” Shankar teases. “Vergil's not a quality you tin conscionable benignant of driblet in... he's a tone-changing character. That's not the lone crushed the code is truthful antithetic and the scope and standard is different. Whereas the Dante you met successful Season 1, he's a small jokey. Little jokey. Vergil's not that guy. Vergil's very, precise serious. So the scope and standard of his powerfulness level is 1 that benignant of reorders things. That causes everyone to notice. Let maine enactment it that way.”

Is Vergil the series’ main antagonist for Season 2? Shankar is hesitant to uncover excessively overmuch connected that front, but helium does enactment that Vergil shares 1 important constituent successful communal with Season 1’s White Rabbit. They’re some psychologically analyzable characters that beryllium successful stark opposition to Dante himself.

Robbie Daymond arsenic Vergil and Johnny Yong Bosch arsenic Dante successful Devil May Cry S2. Credit: Netflix

“First of all, arsenic conscionable a storyteller, I'm ne'er 1 to repetition myself. I don't privation to archer you whether Vergil's the antagonist oregon not, but there's much layers to him,” Shankar says. “I deliberation that feeling that we got from the White Rabbit, and portion of that is conscionable due to the fact that determination was truthful overmuch complexity to the psyche, we're going to get a batch much of that crossed the committee this season. So not conscionable for Vergil, but for each the characters.”

Shankar is excited to excavation into the analyzable affectional halfway of that fractured brotherly enslaved successful Season 2. But arsenic overmuch arsenic the amusement leans connected its animation to archer the story, it truly falls connected dependable actors Bosch and Daymond to merchantability the dynamic betwixt Dante and Vergil.

“There were much resources fixed to america for Season 2... Just successful presumption of erstwhile you person much resources, you tin crank up a batch of elements, truthful that was cool. But I deliberation there's a batch of nuance and complexity that Johnny and Robbie were capable to add, which I mean, look, I'm the 1 who formed them, truthful I knew they were capable to present it. I knew that they could bring it, truthful I don't privation to accidental they transportation the show, but they bash transportation the performance, which is what large actors do.”

Shankar continues, “And also, I deliberation conscionable the information that Vergil's alive, it's thing we teed up astatine the extremity of Season 1, that Vergil represents a coiled for Dante. And present the information that he's not lone alive, but has been alive. Now, truthful that's opening up a batch of affectional baggage. So arsenic an actor, that's catnip for idiosyncratic arsenic experienced arsenic Johnny, due to the fact that you're playing an emotion, but you're playing 3 layers of subtext.”

With truthful overmuch newfound accent connected Vergil this season, wherever does that permission Scout Taylor-Compton’s character, Mary? Shankar reveals that Mary takes a spot of a backseat successful Season 2 successful favour of the Dante/Vergil dynamic. However, she’s inactive an important portion of the equation, and fans volition larn much astir her tragic inheritance this season.

Johnny Yong Bosch arsenic Dante and Scout Taylor-Compton arsenic Mary. Credit: Netflix

“It'll beryllium surprising,” Shankar says. “The play truly focuses connected Dante and Vergil. Those are the focal constituent characters. So I'd accidental Mary/Lady is little of an accent this time, truthful determination is that. Not to accidental that she's not successful the show, due to the fact that she evidently is, but I don't deliberation it's evident what her arc is going to beryllium oregon however it's going to play out. I consciousness similar radical who ticker it, hopefully everyone watches it, they'll locomotion distant being like, ‘Oh, I did not spot immoderate of that coming.’ There are mysteries determination that volition beryllium revealed connected the Mary front.”

Season 2 volition besides proceed to absorption connected Vice President William Baines, the spiritual zealot successful complaint of DARKCOM. That’s contempt the information that archetypal dependable histrion Kevin Conroy passed distant successful 2022, necessitating a recast for Season 2. Shankar notes that portion Conroy’s decease did interaction his plans “slightly,” helium was capable to pivot and proceed his overarching storyline for Baines.

“Let maine enactment it this way. I was concerned. I was very, precise concerned,” Shankar admits. “I was like, ‘Uh-oh, is this adjacent going to work?’ And thankfully, it does enactment due to the fact that the caller performer who came successful made it enactment and Netflix was ace gracious and we benignant of went done aggregate imaginable performers and I was like, ‘Uh-oh, what americium I going to do?" But thankfully it works, truthful the alterations were insignificant erstwhile they could person had to person been massive.”

"You're going to beryllium doing the DiCaprio meme wherever you're pointing astatine the TV.“

The Music and Action of Season 2

As overmuch arsenic quality and household play is simply a absorption of Season 2, let’s not hide that Devil May Cry is besides a bid defined by stylish enactment scenes and gory battles betwixt humans and demons. Fans won’t beryllium disappointed connected that front. And overmuch similar however Season 1 delighted enactment movie buffs with an extended riff connected 2011’s The Raid: Redemption, Season 2 volition see its ain homages to enactment movie classics.

“It's afloat of it,” Shankar says. “Because dude, earlier I was doing this, I was a shaper of enactment movies and I truly dove into that genre and I tried to recognize it arsenic good arsenic I could and became a pupil of the genre. So for me, it's each astir having homages to what came before. And, yeah, truthful Season 2 is afloat of worldly similar that. Now, again, it's not The Raid, but if you are a instrumentality of the enactment movie genre oregon you're a instrumentality of Hong Kong cinema, you're going to beryllium doing the DiCaprio meme wherever you're pointing astatine the TV.”

For immoderate Devil May Cry fans, a peculiar sticking constituent of Season 1 was the information that Dante didn’t wield his trademark achromatic and achromatic guns, Ebony and Ivory. Shankar confirms that 1 of his goals with the caller play was to present those iconic weapons. It’s each portion of the propulsion to spell bigger and better.

Watch Dante get Ebony and Ivory successful Devil May Cry Season 2:

“I knew going in, adjacent erstwhile I was doing Season 1, that helium would get Ebony & Ivory successful Season 2, due to the fact that of Nell Goldstein, who she's adjacent hinted astatine successful Season 1. So this was portion of the plan. I knew helium was going to get it. Because portion of the things is successful the games, you conscionable benignant of conscionable him and he's each powerful.”

Shankar continues, “One of the things I loved astir Batman Begins, and a batch of movies of this ilk, you spot these characters level up, you spot them attain caller powers, caller abilities, caller weapons. There's a James Bond-esque happening going connected erstwhile each of a abrupt you're like, ‘Oh, this is simply a chill gadget that'll let maine to relation better.’"

Season 1’s sixth occurrence enjoyed peculiarly beardown captious acclaim, arsenic it broke distant from the modular look and played astir with some the series’ animation benignant and a deficiency of dialogue. Shankar confirms that fans tin expect akin storytelling detours successful Season 2, adjacent if they aren’t precisely the same.

“Not successful the aforesaid way, but yes, absolutely,” Shankar says. “Episode 1 and 6 were truly built astir the thought that soundlessness was almighty successful a satellite of truthful overmuch noise, wherever each of a abrupt sound nary longer had a premium and soundlessness was powerful. Similarly, I person different signifier interrupts. I conjecture that's the word, right? Pattern interrupts, but they bash not lucifer the signifier interrupts from Season 1 because, again, I didn't privation to conscionable bash the look happening wherever Season 2, Episode 6 is simply a flashback with nary dialogue.”

Devil May Cry is besides notable for being a spot of an aboriginal ‘00s play piece, a information which is emphasized successful the assorted needle drops of alt-rock and nu-metal hits similar Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’,” Rage Against the Machine’s “Guerrilla Radio,” and Crazy Town’s “Butterfly.” In keeping with the taxable of “bigger and better” for Season 2, Shankar says fans tin expect much of these needle drops successful Season 2, arsenic it’s 1 of the much tangible ways successful which the show’s accrued fund is playing retired onscreen.

“We person mode much needle drops, due to the fact that I deliberation with Season 1, I don't privation to accidental it was a fight. It was conscionable like, ‘Hey, there's constricted resources.’ And I truly wanted to bash needle drops successful an anime due to the fact that I'm like, ‘Hey, that's cool.’ Nu-metal needle drops, I haven't seen that before.”

Shankar continues, “For Season 2, we person a batch more. A lot, lot, batch more, and they're epic. Now, they're epic due to the fact that I truly got that needle driblet happening dialed successful this time, truthful there's a batch more. I consciousness similar we person the champion soundtrack, oregon Season 2 volition person been the champion soundtrack Netflix has ever had, similar each of Netflix.”

Devil May Cry Season 2 launches connected Netflix connected May 12, 2026.