Saturday another highly-anticipated series from AMC was showcased at San Diego Comic-Con. Deadline reports the panel for Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire brought cast, creatives, and a first look at the series based on prolific author Rice’s gothic novels. View the trailer below.
Moderated by TVInsider’s Damian Holbrook, the panel opened with the trailer. The series depicts a classic tale of lust, love, and blood-thirsty obsession that begins in 1900s New Orleans. Louis De Pointe du Lac, a Black man played by Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones), seeks refuge from the world around him by joining the fold of Lestat de Lioncourt, a vampire played by Sam Reid (The Newsreader). As their courtship blossoms, their unbreakable entanglement faces friction when a new subject, child vampire Claudia, joins the duo. Newcomer Bailey Bass will play the role famously portrayed by Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog) in the film adaptation. The trio’s tumultuous relationship across place and time will be retold via Louis to a struggling journalist, Eric Bogosian’s (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) Daniel Malloy, seeking a return to glory late in his career.
According to Deadline, the creative team told the Ballroom 20 crowd they seek to adhere more closely to Rice’s book.
“Our vision had a lot of things to consider,” writer and showrunner Rolin Jones (Perry Mason) said via Deadline. “The advantage is that we are on television, whereas the movie had to sprint because it only had two hours. We’ve taken so much of Anne’s writing and used it for the show.” The 1994 film starred Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick) and Brad Pitt (Bullett Train) in the roles of our two male protagonists. The film also dodged the stronger queer elements of Louis and Lestat’s relationship which Jones assured will be present in this version, describing it as “an aggressive, beautiful love story between two people. That is all.”
Holbrook then opened the floor for the main cast to speak about their experiences taking on these iconic roles.
“I am a huge fan of the books, so when I heard this show was being made, I prayed for an audition,” Reid explained via Deadline. “Then I got the part, and I felt the pressure that comes with the opportunity to portray a character I have a deep love for. It’s the greatest gift.”
Anderson described how he watched the film as a teenager and got excited when he received information about the audition.
“As soon as I got the email about the audition, I got this weird feeling in my stomach. … I am excited to be a part of this world as I deeply connected with Louis,” he told Holbrook via Deadline.
Bass, the youngest of the three, described the opportunity to portray Claudia as “a dream role.” “As an actor being able to do these incredible action sequences in the script had my eyes glued to the page,” Bass explained via Deadline. “Claudia is a big character who feels so much by being trapped in that body, and we get the chance to see who Claudia is at various ages.”
The executive producer of the show, Mark Johnson (Better Call Saul), detailed why he came aboard the project.
“The books are so fun, and so different, it’s hard to believe they are connected in that way,” Johnson stated via Deadline. “[Rice] is a stylistic, and thematic writer, and it’s a privilege to be involved. The Anne Rice world is going to go on for some time on AMC.”
Rice, who passed last year, secured a rights deal with AMC Networks in 2020 which allotted privilege to both her Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches content. Between those two series, 18 titles exist opening a gateway for many more tales to come.
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire debuts on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, Oct. 2 after The Walking Dead.