David Bridges
Key Highlights
- Focus Shift: The third season of AMC’s Interview With the Vampire will rebrand as The Vampire Lestat, centering on Lestat’s journey.
- Character Development: Louis will have a more significant role this season, showcasing a deeper narrative arc.
- Claudia’s Return: Delainey Hayles reprises her role as Claudia, expected to have expanded character depth.
- Premiere Date: The Vampire Lestat is set to premiere on AMC in 2026.
Very soon, it will be time for Sam Reid’s Lestat to tell his side of the story. With its third season, AMC’s Interview With the Vampire rebrands to The Vampire Lestat so it can center the French bloodsucker, who’s spending the present day as the headliner of a popular rock band.
Where does that leave his lover, Louis, the centerpiece of the first two seasons? Previews show Jacob Anderson remains part of the cast, seemingly haunting Lestat’s narrative in the same way Lestat haunted his back in season two. But showrunner Rollin Jones told Entertainment Weekly that Louis’ presence here is the biggest change from the Anne Rice novel this season is based on, which Jones said “doesn’t have a lot for him.” The expanded role for Louis was born out of love for Anderson’s performance, and Jones thinks it’s something fans will love seeing play out.
“We wanted to provide a really good arc for Louis,” he teased. “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.”
The same logic for bringing Louis back also goes for his and Lestat’s daughter Claudia, played again by Delainey Hayles. Jones acknowledged the book version of Claudia isn’t left with much to do but brought her back this season because Hayles “[was] an absolute beauty of an artist…and really changed a lot about our show for the better.” He was again cryptic about what to expect from her but said Claudia would have “even more range” than what fans saw of her last season.
In beefing up Louis and Claudia’s roles, The Vampire Lestat will further help explore just how much of a mess its title character is. “[Lestat]…doesn’t want to examine himself, but is forced to,” said Jones. “There’s all this armor that he’s putting forth to try not looking inside, but [doing that] is very, very, very hard and messed up.”
Count us in for all of that when The Vampire Lestat premieres on AMC in 2026.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Daniel Mercer
Brandon Fletcher
