This interview has been edited for length.
What inspired the idea of adding that element toNocturnes story?
Of course, then, you need characters to dramatize this.
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Nyoni:What I found interesting was that conversation about where the line between fiction and reality is.
Im a history buff.
Weve seen those hairstyles a bunch, and theyre not historically accurate.
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We can be fresh with that and keep it in history.
Thats a real true-life story; she wasnt the only woman.
Nyoni:We were fortunate throughout the process to work with a Haitian American scholar calledCecile Accilien.
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Much of her work revolved around Francophone studies, so she gave us cultural and historical context.
Those things were important for us in the process.
Testament:The first season was so much about freedom.
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Theres a continual theme about people finding and fighting for freedom in different ways.
Thematically, it just made sense.
There are people likeChevalier Saint Georgewho mentored him, but this has been erased from history.
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Im half African heritage and half European in my bloodline.
I have slave owners on my African side and on my European side, slaves and oppressed.
Im passionate about hearing different sides of the human experience, and thats what great art can do.
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io9: Were there any elements vital to you forNocturneto nail in the writers room regarding Black representation?
Zyoni:Everything felt vital.
We did all of that work because representation felt important to us.
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io9: There have always been cliches for how Black characters are represented in animation.
Nyoni:I remember conversing about the evolution of Annettes hair.
At one point, I was going, The shape of the nose isnt right.
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You cant do this copy-and-paste thing of the same physical features but then just make everybody shades of brown.
It just isnt going to work.
So we sat down and talked a lot about why that mattered.
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I think what was really great is the team was always open to those conversations and understanding.
Representation isnt just about whether or not are we using the right language.
Its also about what is it we visually see.
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Its also to do with the length of time it takes to create this series.
You have more space to have those conversations.
Its been lovely seeing spaces where Annette is embraced and celebrated.
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We need to be able to go, Whats the thing that were saying about fictional stories?
Whats the thing that were saying about adaptations?
Whats the thing that were saying about blackness and visibility?
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But sometimes it feels like all this stuff got enmeshed into one and exposed peoples prejudice and racial biases.
Ive always been massively proud of Annette as a character.
How important was keeping that prescient revolution theme ongoing while having characters converse without talking down to each other?
Nyoni:When people start revolutions, they are determined to challenge the institutions that no longer serve them.
Youve got to find your people and organize to effect change.
We see this at the top of the series when Annette seeks out the Belmonts.
We cannot do it alone.
The fight doesnt just begin or end with you.
Characters like Annette must return to their ancestors for that internal strength and rich conversation around revolution.
In the African context, youre not fighting alone with those alive.
Texture, layers, and history are fused within that love for the game.
I am a person of faith, hence Testament.
No one is entirely right or entirely wrong.
Maria is generally more right than her crazy, corrupt dad.
Still, hes got some points, and theyre having an honest theological debate.
We still want it to be sensational and spectacle, with crazy battles and fantastic animation.
Testament:Drolta is one of my favorite characters.
Of course, we have some dramatic licenses, but we take them seriously.
We still have this British sensibilitythat sort of irony and dryness from the first and fourth seasons.
That spans a singular race.
It certainly wasnt because of some supposed need for a quota of Black characters.
Netflix never said anything about that.
It flowed from the logic of the story we wanted to tell.
A minority of the audience have attacked the show as woke, and so forth.
Of course, on one level, that was to be expected.
If its woke to tell a story which is partly about that, well, so be it.
Testament:I think all conversation is welcome as long as we arent shutting down conversation on whatever side.
I think its an opportunity to talk about how the French Revolution had important Black people.
When the new politics of the revolution was starting, you had freed slaves in parliament.
The first Black representative was in Paris during that era.
There was a Black area of Paris at that time.
Richter asks Dracula, You wanna enslave all mens souls?
This freedom narrative for Richter goes back to the games; all were doing is adding to that.
I believe in you, Richter.
Thats her story arc.
Annette starts at a different place but grows to believe in Richter.
She isnt a damsel in distress but can handle her own as women in that period did, historically.
We just conveniently forget about it sometimes.
Richter is still the hero, still kicks butt, and takes names.
Hes flawed; hes on a journey.
To start with him was like Arnold Schwarzenegger didnt make sense for us.
Hes still the main dude; he has strong supporting friends.
Historically, Black folks have been around in spaces where white people think that we have not been.
We have long-rooted histories in spaces.
Where do adaptations sit?
What space are they allowed to occupy?
Nobodys stopping you from playing the games.
Somebody elses prejudice and racism are not for me to tackle.
I just have to continue to write great stories.
That is my only task.
io9: What impact do you hopeCastlevania: Nocturnes story will have on the gaming and animation industry?
Nyoni:When the first series came out, we saw the impact in real-time.
But it takes showrunners like [Bradley] to say I need new voices in the space.
I dont know how else I would have gotten here if they hadnt requested different voices in the space.
When I grew up, there werent heroes who looked like me, so we had Bruce Lee.
I loveAkiraand everything it says about government and how we live our lives.
you could have a cool motorbike chase, but you could also think about what totalitarian states are.
All eight episodes ofCastlevania: Nocturneseason two are streaming on Netflix.
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