Devil May Cry fans will find the upcoming Netflix series protagonist’s English voice eerily familiar
Although the recently revealed teaser trailer for Netflix’s Devil May Cry was light on details, an interesting casting choice immediately caught the attention of those who have played the games. Keen-eared fans were quick to point out that the animated series’ version of Dante will be voiced by none other than Johnny Yong Bosch. Bosch, who has provided the English voice and motion capture for Nero since Devil May Cry 4, has fans divided about his new role as Dante.
Bosch previously revealed the initial struggles he had when playing Nero in Devil May Cry 4. As a new protagonist at the time, Nero looked and sounded a lot like Dante based on the script; prompting Bosch to channel his own version of Dante instead. It wasn’t until he delved deeper into Nero’s naivete and relationship with Kyrie, his childhood friend and love interest, that Bosch was able to solidify Nero’s personality and place in Devil May Cry.
Based on the official teaser trailer, Bosch looks to be channeling his initial performances as Nero into the animated version of Dante. The Dante in the animated series is younger and cockier, sporting attire and gear that are similar to what he uses in the prequel game, Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening. As Nero is looks a lot like Dante in his younger days, perhaps the casting crew thought that Bosch would be the perfect fit.
What’s strange is that Reuben Langdon, who has been providing the English voice and motion capture for Dante since Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening, wasn’t given the role instead. Apart from playing a 19-year-old Dante in Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening, Langdon also provided Dante’s English voice for the 2007 Madhouse anime Devil May Cry: The Animated Series. As far as experience goes, some would say Langdon is more than qualified to take on the role of a young Dante in an animated series.
The decision to cast Bosch as the English voice of Dante in Netflix’s upcoming animated series has been met with mixed reception. While some Devil May Cry fans are happy that Johnny Yong Bosch is taking on the role, others find Dante’s voice in the trailer to be so similar to Nero’s that it becomes uncanny. Despite not snagging the role of Dante, some fans are hoping that Reuben Langdon will be cast as another character in the animated series.
Netflix’s Devil May Cry animated series isn’t set to release until April 2025, so we’ll have to wait and see if this one is faithful to the games it is based on. If filmmaker Adi Shankar’s other video game-based productions like Castlevania and Captain Lazarhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix are anything to go by, that could be the case.
Devil May Cry is scheduled to start streaming on Netflix in April 2025.
