Anne Rice died at the age of eighty, leaving in her wake a prolific and renowned literary career. Also, a dense universe of characters and stories that grew exponentially over forty years. It is a rare phenomenon that allowed the writer to create individual spaces for each of her characters. In addition, to considerably strengthen a detailed mythology that turned his more than forty works into pop culture landmarks.
But oddly enough, Anne Rice’s work has not been as successful in film and television as it has in bookstores. And this despite the fact that, during these years, adaptations have been a constant.
Only Interview with the Vampire (1994) by Neil Jordan has had an impact similar to that of the homonymous work. Its immediate sequel Queen of the Damned (2002) was a critical and box office disaster. For its part, the television movie Feast of All Saints (2001) is considered a minor adaptation of a low-key work by Anne Rice.
A long journey towards a clear project
Over the past decade, attempts to adapt Anne Rice’s complex world have resulted in a series of failed attempts. In 2016, there were rumors about a remake of the iconic Jordan movie, Interview with the Vampire, from the hand of director Josh Boone. It was even said that possibly the actor Jared Leto could play Lestat. But the production stopped and in the end disappeared from the director and actor’s agenda.
In 2018 Paramount TV bought the rights to the work together. On this occasion, everything pointed to a series that adapted the calls The Vampire Diaries. Christopher Rice, son of Anne Rice, even posted on his mother’s official Facebook page that Bryan Fuller was in charge of the project. A photograph of the producer with a script of a possible pilot could also be seen. However, the project also ended up failing. Apparently, Fuller was put under kind of pressure for tone and form of moving the characters and stories to the small screen. In a singular culmination, Fuller left the project without the first scene being shot.
In 2019, HULU acquired the rights only to abandon potential production for no clear reason. Lastly, AMC was the next buyer this time in 2020. The agreement includes all the stories of the The Vampire Diaries, as well as the so-called trilogy of Mayfair witches. Both book collections encompass most of the writer’s work. The channel gave the green light at least two adaptations of both sagas.
Again, a long interview
In June 2021, AMC announced that the book Interview with the Vampire would be adapted as a series of eight chapters. The channel detailed that Alan Taylor (Thor: Dark World) would direct the first two chapters, in addition to being an executive producer. The well-known director would join Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson in the credits of the series. The latter will also be the executive producer of the series, along with Anne Rice’s son, Christopher Rice.
As for the cast, actor Sam Reid will play the vampire Lestat, while Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones) to Louis, his tormented companion. For the role of the vampire girl Claudia, AMC has selected Bailey Bass, who we will soon be able to see in the sequel to Avatar 2.
Another of the projects that AMC will carry out is the one based on the trilogy of the Mayfair Witches. Less known than The Vampire Diaries, the literary saga tells the story of several generations of witches united by a sinister presence. The series, also of eight chapters, will adapt at least the first book. The plot will tell the story of Rowan Mayfair, surgeon and unlikely heir to a mysterious inheritance.
This Spalding and Michelle Ashford will be the writers and executive producers of the series. Spalding will also be the showrunner for the upcoming show.
“The world of witches has fascinated and terrified for centuries. But nevertheless, Anne Rice’s particular lens on witches explored something entirely new. Women who are powerful and often brutal. Always committed to subverting our current power structures, ”Spalding and Ashford told Variety. “We are very excited to join our partners AMC in bringing this mysterious and provocative world to life.”
Both the series based on Interview with the vampire as the one that will adapt Mayfair witches, already posthumous works to Anne Rice, will premiere sometime in 2022.