Summary
Interview with the Vampirearrived in 2022 to high praise for its faithful rendering of the spirit of Anne Rice, and nowa whole host of new characters from Anne Rice books have been revealedforInterview with the Vampireseason 3. The season 3 press release announced that Lestat would be “starting a band and going on tour”, looking toThe Vampire Lestatfor its source material. It also confirmed which characters would join Lestat on this adventure. This horror-fantasy book series turned romantasy TV show somehow perfectly translated Rice’s characters thus far.
The Vampire Lestatis the second book in Anne Rice’sThe Vampire Chroniclesbook series, which documents the exploits ofInterview with the VampirecharactersLestat, Louis, Daniel, Claudia, and Armand. A vast web of other characters is involved in this book, and the next,The Queen of the Damned, whichInterview with the Vampireseason 3 may touch on. Showrunner Rolin Jones said “Lestat will be front and center telling the story"in season 3, just like he was inThe Vampire Lestat, so allcharacters will be shown through Lestat’s eyes(viaVariety).
All 13 Books In The Vampire Chronicles Series, Ranked
Anne Rice’s legendary The Vampire Chronicles book series, featuring the vampires Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt, ranked.
6Akasha
The Queen of the Damned
AMCcited “Those Who Must Be Kept” as new characters forInterview with the Vampireseason 3, which book readers will know refers to Akasha, the Queen of the Damned. Namesake of the third book inThe Vampire Chronicles,The Queen of the Damned,Akasha was one of the most ancient vampires alive. She appeared towards the end ofThe Vampire Lestat, securing her place inInterview with the Vampireseason 3.
Interview with the Vampireseason 3 is expected sometime in 2025.
Akasha was tragically Aaliyah’s last role in cinemain the 2002 movie adaptationQueen of the Damned, as she starred alongsideStuart Townsend’s Lestat. Her seductive Akasha hit all the right notes, soInterview with the Vampireseason 3’s Akasha has big shoes to fill. If the source material is anything to go by, the show’s Akasha may involve a trip to a sunny island of some kind for Lestat. It looks like he needs a holiday, but this may not be the R&R opportunity normally associated with sunny islands.
5Enkil
The other half of the “Those Who Must Be Kept” moniker,Enkil plays a central role in both the origin of vampires and the plot ofThe Vampire Lestat, although not appearing throughout most of it. Vampire lore fiends will be pleased to learn of the existence of Enkil, as they get to learn more about where vampires come from and how they function. Enkil wasn’t intheQueen of the Damnedmovie, soInterview with the Vampireseason 3 has a fresh slate to adapt from.
Enkil’s villainy could make an important foil for the show’s suite of anti-heroes.
Enkil could join the show as a powerful threat to Lestat and whatever friends he may have at the time - he’s an example fromThe Vampire Chroniclesofa supporting character that plays a mostly antagonistic role throughout. Putting another vampire villain of true Anne Rice caliber on the table would make Lestat, Louis, and Armand look nice in comparison. Enkil’s villainy could make an important foil for the show’s suite of anti-heroes. Then again, Anne Rice and Rolin Jones both tapped the joy and humanity of giving every villain a chance to speak, and that is never unwelcome here.
Aaliyah Is Iconic In Queen Of The Damned - Even If The Movie Isn’t
Queen Of The Damned is the forgettable sequel to Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire but Aaliyah made the role of Queen Akasha iconic.
4Magnus
The Vampire Lestat
A most contentious character alluded to briefly inInterview with the Vampire,Magnus was presented by Lestat as a Silence-of-the-Lambs-type serial killerof a vampire who “collected” young men of Lestat’s physical type. One of the characters confirmed to joinInterview with the Vampireseason 3, Magnus, will likely be a character used to explore Lestat’s past, like in the books. However, he may appear in more than just flashbacks - the show has gone off-script before, and it will again.
Presenting a vampire in this light raises interesting questions in the show - after all, they are all essentially serial killers. This was a point pressed by the ever-real Daniel Molloy in the first two seasons, and it was an absolutely critical point for the show to nail, and it did so with aplomb.The show’s self-awareness is what sets it apart from previous adaptationsand makes it feel most like an Anne Rice novel, with the novels' profound psychological portraits coming from looking at their characters from multiple angles and character perspectives.
As vampire-fronted horror-fantasy, the show and books romanticized killing and death, often in suitably romanticized period settings. But when Daniel brought the show and viewers back to the present day, he whipped the show out of horror-fantasy and into police procedural mode, slamming the serial-killing reality of vampires onto the table. This genre-switching is as Anne Rice as it gets, and frees the show from the constraints former adaptations suffered.Perhaps the only difference between Louis and Magnus is their eye color- but that will be for audiences to decide inInterview with the Vampireseason 3.
3Marius
The maker of the show’s premiere bad guy, Armand, Marius has a lot to answer for and a story to tell inInterview with the Vampireseason 3. As anyone who has read the books knows, Armand is far from a “bad guy” in the grand scheme of things. But anyone who has seen the show could probably attest to this too, with Jones and Armand actor Assad Zaman both painting layer upon layer of sympathetic nuance onto him. Like father, like son -Marius is as far away from a clear-cut villain as Armand, and indeed, most Anne Rice characters.
Marius' entry toInterview with the Vampireseason 3 may blow up events in a big way, with his power inThe Vampire Chroniclesa social one as well as a physical one. One of the oldest, but also one of the kindest, he was imbued by Rice with the kind of maturity that invited cheeky, apologist reactions to his ancient pederasty (Medieval times don’t count).Marius was a rare diplomat in a hostile world, and it will be interesting to see how he comes across inInterview with the Vampireseason 3.
I’m So Glad Interview With The Vampire Season 3 Isn’t Completely Changing Armand & Daniel’s Book Story
Interview with the Vampire season 3 is set to deepen the relationship between Assad Zaman’s Armand and Eric Bogosian’s Daniel, and I can’t wait.
2Nicholas
Nicholas will be another intriguing figure to bring to the small screen, as Lestat’s old flame. IfInterview with the Vampireseason 3 will tell Lestat’s story, Nicholas can be expected to play a major role. Lestat spent a lot ofThe Vampire Lestattelling his origin story in an autobiography that was embedded into the text, representing the work created and published by Lestat in-universe, in response to the publication of Louis' interview with Daniel. In this part of the book,Nicki was Lestat’s first great loveand first great heartbreak.
The first great love and the first great heartbreak, normally involving the same person, remain a cosmic connection for life, and it is this formative influence that Nicholas had on Lestat. His presence is therefore non-negotiable inInterview with the Vampire.Nicholas actually already cropped up in the show, making an appearance inInterview with the Vampireseason 2.
1Gabrielle
Gabrielle must be one of the best characters in Anne Rice’s world, and is an important character inThe Vampire Lestat, so her addition toInterview with the Vampireseason 3 was inevitable. Some would argue that it’s a shame that the books didn’t spend longer on her and instead ruminated on the Mayfair witches from Anne Rice’s other series,Lives of the Mayfair Witches. Now confirmed by AMC,her inclusion could make for one of television’s best explorations of motherhood, if she gets the same psychological depth and realization as otherInterview with the Vampirecharacters.
Anne Rice’sLives of the Mayfair Witchesbook series was consecutivelyThe Witching Hour,Lasher, andTaltos.
Described by Anne Rice as an intrepid explorer,Gabrielle made up an exploration of genderinThe Vampire Lestatwhich reflected Anne Rice’s own gender confusion. This is a pertinent topic for a contemporary audience that the world is ready for, after Hollywood’s fair but drab-in-comparison attempts to adapt Anne Rice thus far. What’s most exciting is how on earth Lestat expects to juggle Louis' love-hate energy with the love-hate energy of Gabrielle - his very own mother - inInterview with the Vampireseason 3.
Interview with the Vampire
Cast
Based on Anne Rice’s novel series that began in 1976, Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror fantasy series that explores the life of Louis de Pointe du Lac through an interview with a journalist. Told through flashbacks of Louis' life during the interview, the series examines Louis' relationship with the vampire that turned him, Lestat de Lioncourt, and a teenage girl named Claudia, whom he turns. The series is the first of Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe media franchise.
