James Wan (Saw, Death Sentence) has signed on to write and direct the feature film adaptation of Konami's vampire-slaying series Castlevania.

Though the project was reportedly dead in the water, it has apparently risen from the grave, with Resident Evil film veteran Paul W.S. Anderson still slated to help write and produce.

"For once, the human hero is as sexy and dangerous as the vampire villain, and his weapon of choice was what attracted me to the project in the first place - The Vampire Killer Whip," Wan told Bloody-Disgusting. "I'm still trying to work things out, but the producers love my vision for [the project.]"

In his discussion with the site, Wan elaborated on his plans for the... Read more

Paul W.S. Anderson's filmic adaptation of the Castlevania game series has been returned to the grave, according to a report from Bloody-Disgusting.

Production on the film was halted by the 2007 Writers Guild strike, and according to BD's sources, the movie has now entered development hell.

The reports states that attached director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard, Trois 3: The Escort) had recently been replaced by unknown directors before the project was shelved. Anderson had shifted into a writer/producer role following the announcement of the film.

The movie would have told the story of whip-wielding Castlevania protag Simon Belmont. Anderson was developing the script with freshman writer Ian Jeffers.

Developer Konami has announced that a new entry in its vampire-slaying Castlevania franchise in is development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, reports ITmedia.

Few details are known at this point. Following a brief teaser trailer depicting a well-dressed man with a glowing red sword, series producer Koji Igarashi commented that he hadn't expected the game to be announced yet.

The new title will mark the first Castlevania game designed for the PS3 and Xbox 360. While the franchise traditionally has players exploring a 2D or 3D castle, the series is soon expanding into the fighting genre with Castlevania Judgment (Wii).

A new listing on the Entertainment Software Rating Board's website indicates that a new title in Konami's long-running Castlevania series is heading to the Nintendo DS.

Entitled Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, the title was also recently discovered in an entry in the US Patent and Trademark Office's database which revealed the game's title and logo.

Previous Castlevania appearances on the Nintendo DS platform include Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, released in 2005 and 2006, respectively. A third title in the 2D adventure series was confirmed as in development by series producer Koji Igarashi last year.

Shacknews has reached Konami for confirmation, but has not heard back as of this writing.