Richter Belmont makes his debut in the first teaser trailer for Castlevania: Nocturne.
Netflix revealed a first look at the long-awaited follow-up to its hit Castlevania animated series during their yearly Geeked Week event. A new series starring Richter Belmont, the descendant of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, was originally announced last year, but the new brief teaser trailer offers the first real look at the sequel series and its new protagonist. The new show is said to be set several hundred years after the conclusion of the original show's fourth season. While the voices of numerous characters are heard in the trailer, only Richter, clad in his iconic blue uniform and holding his family's trademark weapon, is shown. A release date for Castlevania: Nocturne was not announced.
Richter Belmont first appeared in two of the Castlevania video game series' most acclaimed entries: Rondo of Blood, which was originally exclusively released for the PC Engine CD in 1993, and its direct squel, Symphony of the Night, which landed on the original Sony Playstation in 1997 and marked the series' shift away from a traditional linear-structure and towards the more open "Metroidvania" style that would define later entries in the series. The character is said to be the strongest vampire hunter in the Belmont bloodline, and was originally drawn into the conflict with Dracula after the newly resurrected dark lord kidnapped his girlfriend, Annette. Richter is aided in his adventure by Annette's little sister, Maria, who would also play a major role in the events of Symphony of the Night. Richter also appeared as a playable character in Nintendo's crossover fighter, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
While it's unlikely that Trevor or Sypha will appear given the amount of time that has passed, Richter's story in the video games is connected to Alucard, so there's a healthy chance that the immortal son of Dracula will be one of the characters from the original show to return in the new series. Netflix has yet to announce the cast and crew behind Nocturne.
Netflix's animated franchise is based on a classic series of video games of the same name from Konami, a Japanese video game publisher that was previously known for producing some of gaming's most beloved franchises, including Mystical Ninja Goemon and Metal Gear Solid. The first four seasons of Netflix's show provided a loose adaptation of Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, which was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, and the game that served as a direct sequel to its narrative, Curse of Darkness, which was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox.
All four seasons of Castlevania are available for streaming on Netflix.