Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: Devil May Cry, Shakira Pressley

Devil May Cry Writer on Winning Over Video Game Fans & New Viewers

Devil May Cry writer Shakira Pressley spoke with Bleeding Cool about respecting the video game fans while looking to welcome new viewers.

You'd be hard pressed to find an IP that writer Shakira Pressley hasn't already embraced. Growing up on anime, fantasy, science fiction, and video games, she's worked on several universes, including DC for Warner Bros with Bat Family, the roleplaying franchise world of Critical Role and their animated series Mighty Nein, and Netflix animated series Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry. Pressley spoke to Bleeding Cool about her love for anime and manga, how Courage the Cowardly Dog sparked her writing career, balancing the need to appeal to fans of popular video game franchises and bridging that gap where it can appeal to new fans, and if she's considering writing for live-action. Adapted to TV by Adi Shankar and Alex Larsen, Devil May Cry, based on the Capcom franchise, follows Dante (voice of Johnny Young Bosch), a demon hunter for hire, who's being hunted by the government organization Dark Realm Command (DARKCOM) while trying to battle a demon-obsessed terrorist called the White Rabbit (voice of Hoon Lee) who seeks revenge on the human race.

Devil May Cry Writer Shakira Pressley on 'Retaining Dante's Humor' and Game's Action

Bleeding Cool: What were your creative inspirations growing up?

A lot of my inspirations come from sci-fi stories like 'Star Wars,' 'Star Trek,' and 'Firefly.' I was always big into anime growing up, so I would often catch myself getting in shonen, the OG like 'Samurai Champloo', 'Naruto,' 'Bleach,' all of those I watched really young. I started reading 'Dragon Ball,' and then I became obsessed with manga, anime, and video games, so I started bridging into anything that had these really cool Isekai storylines or fun, like fantasy and sci-fi stories.

What made you feel at home writing for animation?

I was always obsessed with animation. I started wanting to do comic books, and I was like, "Oh, the next best thing is seeing my comic in motion," so animation really drew me in, especially as someone who grew up watching a lot of anime and being obsessed with anything on Cartoon Network at the time. Primarily, I loved 'Courage the Cowardly Dog.' It was like a show that was so weirdly unique to me, it brought so much charm into my life. It inspired me to want to do this; I'm really excited about all the different ways you can use animation to tell a story.

When you approach a gaming IP like 'Tomb Raider' or 'Devil May Cry,' what's been your approach on how you want to see the lore expand?

Some of the hardest parts about adapting anything that's a video game, especially, is bringing in new fans who you want to be invested in the world. It's always difficult breathing new life into those stories and having fans who have been playing those games for ages, and then bringing in a new audience who know nothing about the IP. I like the idea of bridging that gap and making sure I'm staying faithful to the fans, people who love the IPs. You really don't want to push them aside. You don't want to ignore that they are lovers of this fan base for a reason, but you also want to make it so that people who've never heard of this have an entryway and their own bridge into this universe you're creating. Most of the time, that's what I'm trying to do when I work on these adaptations.

For 'Devil May Cry,' a lot of it was like making sure I retain Dante's humor and how action-packed the series is, and for 'Tomb Raider,' it's the puzzles, exploring tombs, and digging up rare artifacts with some magical element. What are the reasons? Lara (Croft) being sassy; these are reasons people come back. They enjoy these characters and worlds. Regardless of whether you're like, "Oh, I'm not really into a bunch of action," the characters are extremely charming and comical, and that's why people love them in their games. Hopefully, their fun demeanor mixed with the heart of the story will bring in the new fans, who know nothing about them and their origins.

Have you considered writing for live action?

I have considered writing for live action. I've not done it yet, mostly because I don't necessarily consider myself an animation writer. I consider myself a writer in general, who, if it's video games, comics, animation, or live action, it depends on the medium and which is the correct medium to tell my story on. As of right now, it's been primarily animation, but I do want to bridge into the live-action space and tell more widespread stories.

Devil May Cry, which also stars Scout Taylor-Compton, Chris Coppola, the late Kevin Conroy, and Ian James Corlett, is available on Netflix.

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