Part of the fun for writers working in the world of IP is the chance to tackle characters and worlds they grew up loving. That’s definitely the case for Shakira Pressley. An Emmy-nominated writer and Producer, Shakira has developed an impressive resume in the world of animation, with a particular eye for established franchises.
Having worked on adaptations like Devil May Cry and the upcoming Wayne Family Adventures shows, Pressley has found the ultimate way to use her fandom to turn her into an active participant in the stories she grew up loving. During an interview with TVBrittanyF, Shakira Pressley discussed how being a fan of franchises like Devil May Cry and Tomb Raider impacted their approach to the animated adaptations, teased her work on upcoming shows like The Mighty Nein, and revealed what her dream adaptations would be.
What was your experience with these properties before joining shows like Devil May Cry and Tomb Raider?
Shakira Pressley: I have always been a massive gamer. I think the first game I ever played was a demo of Crash Bandicoot for the Playstation. Ever since, I’ve been a hardcore gamer. I love the Zelda series. I just got done playing Baldur’s Gate 3 and Split Fiction, I’m a very big fantasy/sci-fi nerd. For Tomb Raider, it was a game that my brother and I grew up playing together. He would help me through all the hard parts. At one point, they made a co-op game, so we could play together, and that was super epic.
Lara was always one of the characters I thought was so cool, collected, and confident. I thought the world around her was just so bizarre. The fact that you could go investigate a tomb and end up fighting a T-Rex and the antagonist would be an alien… it was all so wild to me, because it’s supposed to be grounded in reality. There are always those kinds of elevated parts of the story thrown in there, and I love that.
It’s the same thing with Devil May Cry. I played the first three, and then I had to go back to play 4 and 5. I want to see 3 is the best, but I think 5 might be the best Devil May Cry game… It was really cool getting to work on Devil May Cry, because I got to put all the easter eggs in that I remember from the games. I got to put in all my favorite lines from the games. It was a super cool project to be a part of. I think with IP, I’m getting to work on all the nerdy things that I wanted to when I was a kid. It was all the things I wanted to be a part of, or pretend that I was in the world. Now I get to pretend to be one of the Robins, just like I’ve always wanted to be. It’s just really exciting, just as a massive genre fiend and nerd.
As a fan, what’s your approach to diving into that creative sandbox?
The most exciting part has been — look, I have siblings who are ten years younger than I am. I think being able to bring characters that I loved when I was growing up into their lives, that being a tool for [my siblings] to get through hard times or to experience during their own growth and personal journeys, it’s really exciting to me. It’s really exciting to be able to say, ‘You know Dante from this game? This is how he was when I played those games, and this is how everything’s changed.’
It’s breathing new life into those characters for a new generation. It’s just super exciting! I think it’s something that, if done right, you can do to build a new fan base while keeping the original happy. It can be tricky to figure out when you’re going into these IP and redoing them. It can be tricky to figure out why you cheat certain things, why you remove certain other things, what aspects of it are you putting in so that it’s not just a movie or show about easter eggs… it has to be about those characters and that world that everyone fell in love with.
Honestly, that’s where being a fan comes in. You are a part of the fan base, and you understand why people like this character. People associate this character with these specific things and this type of art. Have you seen them go through this journey we’re telling? Specifically, no. But you understand the complexity and the dynamics that they have in that world is what makes the fans keep coming back.
What can you tease about The Mighty Nein and how it differs from Vox Machina?
There’s an edginess to it. It’s more gritty, more realistic. There’s comedy, but the comedy isn’t the focus of it like it is in Vox Machina. It’s all about the character journeys, and those journeys are a lot more serious. What they’re going through is not to be taken lightly. I also think the characters are vastly different from the Vox Machina characters. Their stories are so complex and heart-wrenching. I think that’s the biggest aspect of the show, that they’ve gone through so much torment, heartbreak, and agony. Are they finally going to get a happy ending? Watching them go through the sludge and drag themselves out of all these terrible situations.
It makes it a bit of a darker show. But it makes the fans want to know if they’re going to be successful. If they’re going to get over those obstacles and have the happy ending so many people want for them. The fans of Critical Role get so attached to these characters. It’s like they know them as people. It’s like looking at them as friends. The community for Critical Role are die hards, they are faithful to it, and they are so compassionate. They’re just like, ‘I just want what’s best for these characters. I feel like I can relate to them in a lot of ways.’ This makes them want to hold the characters tight and make sure their stories get finished in a good way and executed correctly.
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What’s your approach and inspirations for the upcoming adaptation of Wayne Family Adventures?
I am a huge DC fan, so anything Batman or Gotham mythos is like my addiction. So I felt like going into it, I already know so much… it was less the Batman universe that I had to get used to, since I was so used to DC. Not to say, unfortunately, that I love Batman, but he’s not my favorite of the DC characters… I really love Green Arrow. Everyone always goes ‘Really?’ when I say that, but it’s true.
I was really excited, honestly, to write Damian. I feel like he’s so underutilized, and people tend to not love him as much as the other Robins. I’m like, well, I’m gonna give you a reason to love this Robin. I’m gonna make him the most comedic, the most heartwarming. His Mom and Dare are the coolest characters in the world! Therefore, you should give him his respect [Laughter]. It was more than I had to study comedy in the style of the show and strengthen that skill, especially because the art style is so drastically different than what we’re used to for most Batman movies and TV shows.
Even if you look at the ones made for kids, like Teen Titans and Young Justice are very different. It was like, what style of comedy works for this specific show? I went back and watched a lot of Looney Tunes, to kind of pull in the slapstick stuff to get the Joker’s personality down. It’s a very harsh contrast, going from reading him in Batman: The Killing Joke and then having a laugh at him in this. How do I do this properly and make sure that I still get all the nuances of their personalities, and bring back some of those old classic villains that we love, while also bringing in characters? It’s been great.
You’ve gotten to work on some pretty big franchises. Are there any specific adaptations you’re still dying to take a swing at?
I feel like there are two. One is Jet Set Radio. I remember being obsessed with the 1979 movie The Warriors. I think you can mix that with a hip-hop element, and it’s just perfect. You can set it around Y2K if you want, it’s just perfect. It’s ready to be reimagined, and the story writes itself. It’s sort of an Attack the Block type movie or series, I think it’d be epic.
The other is Shadow of the Colossus. It’s such a good game. It’s a David versus Goliath-type story that I am absolutely just in love with. Rooting for the underdog is always my jam, and the character’s journey of trying to bring someone who I’ve wrongfully lost back to life is a really great motivation. I think it’s a really fun story. Mind you, they’re older games. I’ve sometimes been like, does anyone even really care about them? I feel like everything that I love and the ones I grew up with, if I’m doing IP already, I might as well do the ones I’d be the most passionate about.
Devil May Cry and Tomb Raider are currently streaming on Netflix. The Mighty Nein and the upcoming adaptation of Wayne Family Adventures do not currently have release dates.
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