Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles’ Could Become Your Next TV Obsession

It’s been over a decade since Anne Rice’s vampires have graced the screen in Queen Of The Damned, a lackluster adaptation and follow-up to the far more popular Interview With A Vampire in 1994. Universal had purchased the rights to Rice’s vampire stories in 2014, but nothing seemed to come from it. Now, in a new post on her Facebook page, Rice confirms that the series is back in her hands and she has big plans for Lestat and the other vampires in the near future:

The theatrical rights to the Vampire Chronicles are once again in my hands, free and clear! I could not be more excited about this! — A television series of the highest quality is now my dream for Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius and the entire tribe. In this the new Golden Age of television, such a series is THE way to let the entire story of the vampires unfold. — My son Christopher Rice and I will be developing a pilot script and a detailed outline for an open ended series, faithfully presenting Lestat’s story as it is told in the books, complete with the many situations that readers expect to see. We will likely begin with “The Vampire Lestat” and move on from there. —– When we sit down finally to talk to producers, we will have a fully realized vision of this project with Christopher as the executive producer at the helm. I will also be an executive producer all the way.

There’s been no shortage of vampires on television in the past few years, be it the sexy adventures in Bon Temps from HBO’s True Blood, the teen drama on The Vampire Diaries, or the full on craziness of The Strain on FX. So Rice calling a potential series the proper way to tell the story of her vampires might carry a little weight. And while thanking the fans, Rice sets the bar pretty high in terms of television comparisons for her vampire epic:

Over the years you all have told me how much you want to see a “Game of Thrones” style faithful rendering of this material, and how much you want for the series to remain in my control. Well, I have heard you. I have always heard you. What you want is what I want. — You, the readers, made these books a success before any movie was ever made based on them, and I will never forget that fact.

I know The Vampire Chronicles are nowhere near the same realm, but having vampires in a Game of Thrones type of setting would be cool. I mean it’s cool enough for Skyrim, why not cool enough for Westeros? Still, if you’re going to be epic for your television series, there’s no other equivalent to compare to right now.

There’s no set production in place yet, so it’s all just well wishing for fans at this point. But if a show did become a reality, where would it find a home? The TV landscape is pretty crowded at the moment and the exploits of Rice’s characters aren’t exactly suited to network television. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.

(Via Anne Rice / The Hollywood Reporter)

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