Who said the vampire craze was over? Lestat and Louie live again! AMC Networks is developing an eight-episode series based on Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire tale.
AMC Networks snapped up the rights last year to 18 of Rice's Vampire novels, and Interview with the Vampire will kickstart an entire small-screen franchise. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul producer Mark Johnson is set to oversee the entire Rice universe, with hands-on duties on each specific series going elsewhere. Rolin Jones, who created the HBO series Perry Mason, will step in as creator, showrunner and writer of the Interview with a Vampire series.
Both Johnson and Jones will executive produce the show alongside Anne and Christopher Rice. In a statement, Johnson referred to the process of adapting Rice's works for the small-screen, "intimidating and exhilarating." He adds: “Having previously produced films from such singular works, I recognize both the responsibility and the obligation we owe the material. I strongly believe that with AMC and Rolin Jones we are equipped to meet this challenge and to thrill and entertain both the loyal Anne Rice fan and the viewer who is just now discovering her work.”
"We know how much this book and the ones that follow mean to their massive fan base. We feel you over our shoulders as we tend the Savage Garden," Jones chimed in. "Louis and Lestat are coming out of hiding and we can’t wait to reunite them with you."
The popularity of Rice's franchise led to many scuffles over the rights across the years. Universal snapped 'em up in 2015. Rumors about a reboot stirred the following year with Jared Leto, in the midst of his Joker method shenanigans, tied to the part of Lestat. This tentative reworking didn't make it to the big screen and the rights went back up for grabs, leading to this current version on the way.
This newest incarnation of Interview with the Vampire is set to debut on AMC Networks sometime in 2022. Until then, get up to speed on the big-screen bloodsuckers we enjoy the most, in our rundown of the best vampire movies.
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