Adi Shankar, the producer behind Netflix's Castlevania and Devil May Cry animated series, has revealed that he owns the animated rights to Duke Nukem and seems keen to do something pretty unique with the character.
Speaking to Esquire, Shankar—who also has credits such as The Guardians of Justice and Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix on his CV—was asked what he has coming up next:
"I got video games in production. Obviously more Devil May Cry. I'm being approached with different IPs and companies that want to work with me. I bought the rights to Duke Nukem. Not the gaming rights, but I bought it from Gearbox."
When quizzed a little more on what form this Duke Nukem project might take, Shankar replies:
"It's a middle finger to everybody. When Duke Nukem blew up, a bunch of people sat around trying to turn it into a brand, when it's just a middle finger. Duke Nukem can't be made by a corporation, because the moment a corporation makes Duke Nukem, it's no longer Duke Nukem. I don't intend on having anyone tell me what to do on this one."
Shankar's production credits also include the Hollywood movies The Grey (2011), Killing Them Softly (2012), Lone Survivor (2013) and The Voices (2014). He's also famous for his Bootleg Universe series, which includes The Punisher: Dirty Laundry (2012), Venom: Truth in Journalism (2013) and POWER/RANGERS (2015).