When Interview with the Vampire returns for its third season, it will have a new name: The Vampire Lestat. That’s because, in this upcoming book-to-screen adaptation, the focus will shift from Louis to Lestat, as it follows the events of Anne Rice’s book about the rockstar vampire played by Sam Reid. So, considering the fact that Louis isn’t as involved in that story, I’ve been wondering how involved Jacob Anderson’s vampire will be in the show’s next installment. Now, the showrunner has opened up about it.
If you watched this great AMC show on that network or with a Netflix subscription, you know that Louis is the focus of the story. We follow him as he adjusts to being a vampire, and Lestat is very involved in the first part of his story. Then, in Season 2, while Sam Reid is in every episode, he’s acting as a figment of Louis’ imagination and doesn’t actually physically show up as Lestat until the end. So, as the focus shifts over to him, I’ve been wondering how Louis will play into the tale as the vampire who turned him steps into the spotlight. Addressing that, showrunner Rolin Jones told EW:
What I can say is it was very clear we had a very, very beautiful actor in that role and that the source material that we were working from, The Vampire Lestat novel, doesn't have a lot for him. So we dipped into other things that Anne wrote about Louis that's woven into the story we've told already, who we think he is, where he was at, and his relationship with the main character. Whatever he's telling you, it's important to Lestat.
For context, there are a bunch of books in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series. Based on what Jones said here, they plan to pull from those for this season of The Vampire Lestat. Therefore, we’ll get to see more of Louis than we would have if it were solely taking inspiration from the book the season is named after.
Plus, there’s precedent for this kind of thing. As I mentioned, Sam Reid is in a lot of Season 2, even though Lestat is not literally with Louis. He appears as almost a ghost before actually showing up at the very end. So, I'm curious to see if that's how Anderson's character is presented in The Vampire Lestat, because these two vampires are definitely haunted by each other.
The trailer for The Vampire Lestat also proves that Louis has a substantial role to play in this season of television, even though we might not know how just yet. To that point, the showrunner said:
We wanted to provide a really good arc for him, so there's stuff there. I wish I could tell you about it but literally if I give you two or three details, the dominoes begin to fall. I'll tell you this, out of all the stories that we're throwing up this year, it's the one that's working the best and quickest, and it is crystal clear and it's really divine and very, very heartbreaking.
Well, I’m so excited and very worried, because I fear my heart will be ripped out of my chest. If you know the history of Interview with the Vampire, you know that tragedy and drama are par for the course when it comes to Louis and Lestat’s story. However, we’re in uncharted waters here, and I have no clue what’s coming down the pipe for these two, considering we now know that Anderson’s story this season probably won’t be expected.
So, prepare accordingly, people. The Vampire Lestat is coming on the 2026 TV schedule, both Lestat and Louis will be there, and it’s bound to be emotional, intense and bloody.
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