Netflix has ordered eight episodes of Heaven's Forest, a sci-fi, neo-Indian story based on the Ramayana from the minds of Castlevania creatives, Warren Ellis and Adi Shankar.
The story is set in an Indo-futuristic world, with the storyline and characters inspired by the revered Indian mythology surrounding Prince Rama and his quest to free his beloved Sita from the demon Ravana and his minions in Lanka. Rama's story includes his brother, Lakshmana, who holds the throne for him at Ayodhya, as well as the Hindu god Hanuman and his monkey army, as they wage war on Ravana's forces.
"I am delighted to be partnering again with Netflix, my Castlevania comrades, and the Indian creative community, to create this surreal, mythic narrative filled with life and heart," Ellis told Deadline. This Hindu epic inspired the cultural festival known as Ramleela and is considered one of India's most fascinating stories.
"I think I can say that Adi Shankar came with Kevin Kolde to me to ask me to create the kind of treatment of the material that Adi and his friends all wanted to see as teenagers in India. Netflix International and Netflix India came on board to get it done," Ellis added on his personal site. "I've been working with an Indian consultant who specializes in the underlying material. And it will obviously be made with an Indian cast. Now I have to run before the Netflix snipers get me."
"My whole life, I've dreamed of seeing Hindu mythology represented in international media," added Shankar. "My culture's stories are spectacle-filled fantasy epics in lavish aesthetic and we're going to bring it to the global stage."
Ellis is on writing duties, with Shankar and Kevin Kolde as executive producers. The series will be produced by Powerhouse Animation, which has worked on Castlevania and Seis Manos for Netflix. No release date has been revealed.
Add Comments