THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Creator Talks New and Returning Characters

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Fans are eagerly awaiting The Vampire Lestat, AMC’s reimagining of Interview with the Vampire, scheduled for 2026. This new series, based on Anne Rice’s second Vampire Chronicles novel, finally tells the story from Lestat’s perspective, with Sam Reid in the lead role – and portrays him as a full-blown rock star. Showrunner Rolin Jones recently told Entertainment Weekly that the upcoming season is just the first of two planned seasons, offering a complete arc but setting up further storylines. Jones indicated viewers should expect a continuing narrative, and shared details about both familiar and new characters coming in the next season.

Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson)

Check out new photos of Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid from ‘The Vampire Lestat’! The series was formerly known as ‘Interview with the Vampire.’

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) December 19, 2025

In Anne Rice’s novel, The Vampire Lestat, Louis appears only at the very end, and we don’t learn much about what he’s been doing since his famous interview with Daniel Molloy – mostly just that he’s been brooding. However, the showrunner for the new series, Rolin Jones, decided that wasn’t enough. Jacob Anderson, who plays Louis, will have a significantly expanded role, largely because his talent deserves it. Jones says Louis’s storyline will be “very, very heartbreaking,” and he has more details to share.

We explored other details Anne wrote about Louis, building on what we’ve already shared about his background, personality, and connection to the central character. Ultimately, Louis’s story is crucial to Lestat.

Fans are speculating that Louis will become a wealthy, undead businessman in The Vampire Lestat. We already know from Interview with the Vampire that he’s accumulated a lot of property over the centuries. And based on a recently released photo, it looks like he’s embracing his thirst for blood fully.

Gabriella de Lioncourt (Jennifer Ehle)

In The Vampire Lestat, we finally meet Gabriella (Jennifer Ehle), a cherished character from Anne Rice’s series. Known as Gabrielle in the books, she’s revealed to be Italian, sent to France as a teen, and compelled to marry a French nobleman and bear him many children. The showrunner felt strongly that she would insist on pronouncing her name with its Italian roots.

She was a remarkably intelligent woman who was removed from her home at a young age and found herself in a strange and isolating environment. She struggled to adjust to life in France, and we wanted to emphasize that internal conflict. We decided the most natural way to show that was through her clinging to her original identity. Though she may have initially gone by Gabrielle for a short time, especially in the early years of her marriage, she quickly insisted on being called Gabriella as a way to reclaim herself.

Claudia (Delainey Hayles)

Delainey Hayles reprises her role as Claudia in The Vampire Lestat, despite the character’s death. When asked about how Claudia returns, the author declined to explain, simply stating:

Delainey significantly improved our show with her talent and experience. She’s incredibly insightful and deserves more recognition, so we’ve given her some great material, and she’s really shining in it.

We believe Claudia represents Lestat’s guilt, similar to how she appeared in The Tale of the Body Thief. Alternatively, she might simply be a ghost, as she is in part of Queen of the Damned.

Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid)

Let’s talk about Sam Reid as Lestat. A major shift from the book is how his music career is presented. In the novel, he basically has one huge, disastrous concert at the end. Before that, fans experienced his music through records, radio, and music videos. But the series takes a different approach – Lestat’s embarking on a full-blown national tour! It’s meant to mirror his early, wild days as a vampire – what he calls ‘the Devil’s Road.’ Apparently, they recorded a lot of music for this season, so much that we won’t hear all of it right away. The creators are hinting that some songs are being saved for the second part of the series, so keep that in mind!

The Vampire Lestat Season 2?

I’m getting so hyped for the new season! Jones dropped a huge hint that it’s going to be split into two parts, kind of like the Interview with the Vampire format. Honestly, that makes total sense because the book, The Vampire Lestat, is massive – almost twice as long as the first one! It jumps all over the place, flashing back to places like 18th-century France, Venice during the Renaissance, even ancient Egypt and Rome. Trying to fit all of that and the present-day story into one season would be crazy. So if this means The Vampire Lestat is getting the two-part treatment, I’m thrilled! Please, AMC, just don’t make us wait years between parts. The actors – and us fans – aren’t immortal like the vampires are!

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2025-12-20 00:04