About DmC2010 some scrapped draft detail
When I was digging through the game files and found the post-clear cutscene (the credits sequence), I came across something that actually predates the 2010 DmC promotional trailer. It turned out to be the whitebox animation of that very trailer, lol. While scrubbing through this animation frame by frame, I noticed something that looked like a rod strapped to Dante’s waist. It even had physics animation, swaying naturally with Dante’s movements.
At first, because it had two “tube-like” parts, I thought it might be something like a shotgun. But later, when Dante actually picks it up during combat, it becomes clear that it’s really just a rod—two unknown components fused together, nothing more.
From this angle, you can clearly see the clasp on Dante’s waist that holds it in place. He can also use it as a melee weapon, and its form is completely different from Rebellion. Unfortunately, in the final promotional trailer, this object was removed and replaced by the current version of Rebellion.
First of all, since this rod is worn at the waist, it definitely was not intended to be Rebellion at this stage. In the combat sequence mentioned above, the visuals are entirely black and white. When Dante transforms it into the Angel spear, the screen shifts to a cyan-blue tone, clearly implying angelic power.
Then Dante turns back, the palette switches to orange-red, and he attacks using the Demon axe. That orange vignette is obviously signaling demonic power.
If that’s the case, the pure black-and-white scenes earlier can be interpreted in reverse: this rod exists in that form when no power is applied to it at all. In other words, it serves as a vessel for power. That is essentially the same role Rebellion fulfills in the final game, beyond its own narrative function. This rod is a kind of core handle (or weapon spine).
The difference is that in similar melee scenes in the final trailer, this rod was removed and replaced directly with Rebellion. Personally, I really like this kind of “carrier” design—especially the idea that, in its neutral state, it doesn’t even resemble a proper weapon.