As a New Orleans native, the news that Anne Rice’s incredible world she created within vampire lore was making the television jump made me incredibly excited. Having read each book two or three times over since the beginning, to see Lestat and the others come to life once more is a delicious treat and I am far from alone in this sentiment. Recently, Miss Rice and her son Christopher took to her Facebook page for a Q&A with fans. Though production has yet to begin, the video below does offer new insight as to what long-time fans and newcomers can expect from the upcoming series.

Prior to the nitty gritty of questions about the characters and the overall storyline, Anne Rice and her son wanted to make it incredibly clear in the beginning that they do not have a broadcaster at this time. That’s not unheard of, often that solidified partnership comes later on in the development process, but they both made it very apparent that they are not shutting down any potential offers. Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Cenimax, and more were just a few of the ideas they tossed around while also joking that “with the way technology is today,” they wouldn’t put it past Facebook or YouTube picking up the Vampire Chronicles. Still holding out for HBO or Netflix, but that’s just me.

Everybody involved has every intention of going to the place that allows us to make the most faithful adaption to the books as possible.”

Anne Rice is no stranger to creating eclectic characters, nor expanding the horizon beyond the “norm” of supernatural fiction. She has never shied away from sexuality or diversification when it comes to these powerful creatures and those caught in the web around them. The television series, according to the video, will be no different. In fact, Miss Rice is taking the diversification of the characters a step further by expanding upon the racial inclusion far beyond what was seen in the novels. For example, fans of the book (which later received a film adaptation) Queen of the Damned can look forward to Queen Akasha alongside her King, Enkil, that hailed from ancient Egypt. More details upon casting goals have yet to be revealed, but more details will come as the series progresses in its production stage.

The first novel in this series, Interview With A Vampire, debuted in 1976 and birthed a franchise that expands upon 17 books total. In the Q&A, Rice and her son confirm that only eleven of those books would be included within the series’ events. Though only 14 of those novels were centered around the dangerously enthralling Lestat de LionCourt, there were incredibly successful additions to the chronicles that focused on other characters such as Pandora, Marius, and Armand, as well as branching out to blend with another popular series of hers: The Mayfair Witches saga.

With so much content and so many different characters to focus on, Anne Rice didn’t shut down the possibility of spin-offs in the future, depending on the show’s success. To see Armand’s history from The Vampire Armand would be thrilling, if not a huge shock for television for the story’s overall narrative. Don’t even get me started on Memnoch the Devil (please, get me started, it was my favourite). Speaking of Armand, the duo did mention that they were going to shoot for a “youthful” actor to portray the 500 year old vampire. Within the novels, he was described as a beauty with the face of a Botticellian angel – so when the character was cast by Antonio Banderas in the film Interview With A Vampire opposite Tom Cruise, it was a little understandable as to why fans were confused. To hear confirmation that the casting would be more drawn to the novel’s description is fantastic and can’t wait to see who they come up with.

 

One staple that many identified with from Anne Rice’s vampiric legacy was her fluent and flourishing relationships with the novels – more specifically, breaking the boundaries beyond just the male and female pairings. This series was well-thought out, incredibly detailed, and handled with extreme care so it was only natural that fans asked if that same LGBT representation would make its way from the books to the screen. Don’t expect the graphic scenes of sensuality in the upcoming series, this is television after all, but the relationships and the eroticism that is embedded in her stories will be heavily referenced and implied within the television’s story-line, especially so for the sensual nature within the blood exchange from the books. Christopher Rice had this to add:

Lestat lives in an era that is very free of labels; in the beginning before he becomes a vampire in the 1800s, he is very much bisexual and we plan to depict that.”

Are you as excited as I am to see what the future holds for our infamous Lestat? What spin-offs are you hoping to see, if the team decides to go that route down the line? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, and don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for all things entertainment live 24/7!