It seems that we'll finally be seeing the return of the vampire Lestat as The Hollywood Reporter has shared that Universal and Imagine Entertainment have acquired the rights to Anne Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles" series.
The acquisition encompasses the entire body of existing and future novels in the series, including the adapted screenplay written by Rice's son, Christopher Rice, for TALE OF THE BODY THIEF, which Imagine optioned two years ago. There are 13 books in the main series, with another – "Prince Lestat" – hitting shelves in October.
The first installment, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, was made into a film in 1994 and starred Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. A second film followed, THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, in 2002 with Aaliyah playing the eponymous bloodsucker and Stuart Townsend playing the vampire Lestat.
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will produce the films based on the book series, which centers on a 18th century French nobleman-turned-vampire. Could we see a continuation of the series or will they remake the previous two films? My money is on a redo, as it has been 20 years since INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE hit cinemas and a 'let's start over' approach seems the appropriate way to handle a new series of films.
Erica Huggins will oversee films based on the series for Imagine Entertainment, and Bobby Cohen will executive produce.
How does this news hit ya? Are you a fan of Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles" series? And if they did start all over, who would you like to see play Lestat?