With an adaptation of "Assassin's Creed" in the works, Adi Shankar is promising to deliver the goods to fans, because he's one himself.
On Wednesday, Shankar revealed he'll follow up his showrunner gig on Netflix's "Castlevania" series by working with Ubisoft to bring its action-adventure video game franchise to the small screen.
"I've played all the games," Shankar explained in an interview with TooFab. "It's interesting, you said do you have a message for the fans of 'Assassin's Creed,' but that's the thing ... we were at AnimeExpo with 'Castlevania' and the people were going nuts, it was like a 2,000 person auditorium, at one point I told the fans, I'm one of you guys."
Ubisoft/Adi Shankar
'Assassin's Creed' TV Series in the Works From 'Castlevania' Showrunner Adi Shankar
View Story"I just somehow conned my way into Hollywood and tried to get myself kicked out and somehow get to do this stuff, which is dope," he continued. "Dude, I'm not going to fuck up my own childhood."
Shankar also said being able to work on both adaptations was more than just a dream come true, as he opened up about his emotional ties to the gaming world.
"My dad showed me an article when I was a kid, it was about the creator of 'Doom.' In that article the creator of 'Doom' talked about how his dad caught him in an arcade, he was an Asian American, and slammed his head against the arcade machine, like, 'You should be in school,' and he went on this huge journey to prove his dad wrong, to be like I can turn this into a thing, this isn't like doing drugs, this can be a career," he explained. "And my dad read it and was like, if you want to be like that guy, it's cool."
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Netflix's 'Castlevania' Showrunner Blasts The Rock in Defense of Movie Critics
View Story"My dad told me in December -- he actually didn't tell this to me, he's an Indian parent, Indian parents, they shit on you regardless, you could be holding an Oscar and a Nobel prize and be like, 'But your haircut!' -- my dad was telling my mom, 'We used to give him a hard time about playing video games and reading comic books when he was young, he's legitimately turned that into a career," Shankar continued. "Hearing that was like, that meant more to me than any Facebook post about 'Assassin's Creed.'"
As for the widely-panned 2016 film adaptation starring Michael Fassbender, Shankar diplomatically sidestepped giving his own review of the big-budget flop.
"After I told you this emotional story about my father, now you're trying to get me fired off of 'Assassin's Creed'?" he said with a ligh. "I'm just playing with you, but I'm not answering that question."
No premiere date or network has been set for the "Assassin's Creed" adaptation, but Shankar's "Castlevania" drops on Netflix this Friday.
