Netflix Renews Devil May Cry for Final Season 3 Inspired by Paradiso Amid Intense Controversy and Negative Fan Reactions to Showrunner Adi Shankar Statements
Netflix has given the go ahead for season 3 of their animated adaptation of Devil May Cry, and with the latest season, the series is expected to come to a definitive end. Showrunner Adi Shankar confirmed the decision while revealing his inspiration for the series. Shankar's intention was for the show to be modeled on the structure of a classic literary epic: "This is a Divine Comedy with guns and a red cloak," meaning that season 3, the final arc of the series, would be heavily inspired by the third part of the epic, Dante Alighieri's Paradiso.
Shankar's announcement of the season 3 renewal was accompanied by a manifesto posted on social media, which ignited the gaming community and the adaptation's fan base, and Drew many negative comments from critics. In his statement, he called himself a huge talent with godlike intuition, stating "I am a God of ratings." He made a claim that he was able to transcend the sterile world of AAA video game adaptations, which he said could only be produced through hundreds of millions of dollars worth of budgets. Shankar believes he was able to take one of the most famous intellectual properties, Devil May Cry, and adapt it to the screen faithfully, while directly calling out "internet commenters who doubted my vision."
The general reaction to these statements among the devoted fans was overwhelmingly negative, with loyalists to the original Capcom franchise flocking to social media to ridicule the showrunner for his self praised genius and genius for making such a poor product for the sake of his intellectual ambition. One of the most critical responses came from those focused on the low production quality, poor animations, and writing:
"I really think it is one of the worst animated series that i have ever seen. I'd rather give a score higher to the live action Avatar than Devil May Cry."
A key aspect of the criticism involved the ironic nature of Shankar highlighting American animation achievements, considering the physical production was outsourced to South Korea. Another complaint was regarding the writer's anti corporate comments in his blogpost in the context of the actual product which was shown to viewers:
"So you wanted to prove that a video game adaptation doesn't have to be tactless corporate trash built by emotionally stunted brand managers who secretly resent the original. Well, you succeeded."
The negative discourse is interesting due to the fact that season 2, which was released more recently than season 1, was received more favorably from the audience than the latter did, as it was criticized by many fans, saying that it "too freely altered the characteristics and background story of the game's figures and lore." Although ratings for season 2 may have been improved by slight margins over the course of the season, audience opinion still remains divided on the show as the production team heads into the final phase. With the final installment, there is no question about the pressure that the creative team is facing to deliver a season 3 that can win over its cynical fans, particularly following the showrunner's public statements about his abilities.
