Interview with the Vampireis back with season 3 and will be exploring one of Lestat’s more exciting chapters in his afterlife with his rockstar lifestyle. The AMC show serves as the third major adaptation ofAnne Rice’sVampire Chroniclesbook series, with the first two seasons adapting the events of the first book in the series, in which vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac tells his life story to veteran journalist Daniel Molloy. The series chronicles Louis' transformation from an affluent Black man in 1910s New Orleans to the titular supernatural creature after being romanced by Lestat de Lioncourt.
Interview with the Vampireseason 3is set to pick up sometime after the events of the season 2 finale, in which Louis and Lestat reconciled after the latter learned that Armand was behind the sham trial that nearly resulted in his death. While its modern-day storyline is expected to see Louis faced with the consequences of the publishing of his interview with Daniel, season 3 will also primarily adapt the events of 1985’sThe Vampire Lestat, in which the titular vampire found success as a rockstar and formed the titular group, all while searching for meaning as a vampire.
In honor of the show’s presence atSan Diego Comic-Con 2025,ScreenRanthosted Rolin Jones, Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian and Daniel Hart in our suite to discussInterview with the Vampireseason 3. The showrunner, composer and stars discussed the series' shift to exploring Lestat’s rockstar days and how that will bring a new feel to the show, as well as composing the music for the season, Daniel’s struggles as a vampire, and the return of a few major characters.
The Lives Of Rockstars & Vampires Aren’t That Far Off From Each Other
“…Anne Rice Always Said That Rockstars Are Inherently Vampiric.”
WithThe Vampire Lestatnow being the primary focusfor the show’s return,Interview with the Vampireseason 3 will feature a few major changes from prior seasons. One notable change is thatSam Reid’s Lestat will now be the primary voiceover for episodes exploring his rockstar days, something that Jones and his writing staff nearly did away with. However, after finding they “missed it desperately”, they decided it was “really strong in the delightful book” and thus tried to find a way to bring it back.
He basically has to explain to the world why a particular rock album almost destroyed the entire planet, so it starts there.
In reflecting on Lestat’s musical transformation, and previous comments that “rockstars are inherently vampiric”, Reid began by revealing that this idea is actually from Anne Rice herself, with the star “riffing on the theme that she said”. That being said, the star also went on to denote how “Lestat was instrumental in the creation of theThéâtre des Vampires”, as the character sought tocreate “a safe space for vampires to chuck all their vampire-ness out there"even as they were “hiding in plain sight”.
“And there’s a very strong link between the way that Lestat approaches being a vampire rockstar and how he was when he was part of the Théâtre des Vampires,” Reid explained. “And, aside from what Anne Rice said, it’s very true. How many pop songs and rock songs are about being a vampire, or have vampires in them? You could just look at Florence Welch or Chappell Roan or Olivia Rodrigo.”
Reid went on to explain another reason why the transition for Lestat into a rockstar is becauseit’s “very common to associate otherness” and “carnal desire with being a vampire”. “It’s totally logical that he’s up there going, ‘I’m a vampire. Listen to my music. I want to drink your blood’,” Reid expressed. “He could be singing about anything, but he’s using that metaphor, so, no-brainer.”
Hart Worked Closely With The Writers Room To Nail Lestat’s Rock & Roll Sound
“We’ve Done Some Recording Already…”
As expected, when coming into this new era of the series, and of Lestat’s life,Interview with the Vampireseason 3 required Daniel Hart to find the right sound for his band. The series composer revealed that this was a major collaboration between himself and the writers room, with the two “developing [the soundtrack] together” and spending a good amount of time"talking a lot about the book, Anne’s Lestat, and rock and roll”, trying to find a way to make it work for modern viewers and listeners.
“We talked about inspirations like Kurt Cobain, we talked about Otis Redding,” Hart shared. “Both of them have a vulnerable quality to their songwriting and their performance; a rawness that puts emotion at the forefront. That’s what we wanted for Lestat, because that is what we already know to be true of him outside of singing. [We wanted] to bring that into his performance as a rockstar as well.”
While previous seasons have seen the star contribute his voice to a few songs,Interview with the Vampireseason 3 will see Reid have a bigger part to play with the show’s music. In addition to confirming that they’ve “done some recording already” for next season’s music,Hart also revealed that the team “will be performing [the songs] with Lestat and with his band on camera"in a studio in order to prepare for filming. “We’ve still got some to go, but we did a chunk of songs where Sam came in and sang a bunch of songs in a row,” Hart shared.
Teasing that there’s “a particular song that plays a pivotal role in one of the episodes”, Hart “sang on the demos to give Sam something to work with”, but that he and his engineer were blown away when Reid, who “had been working with a vocal coach”, began singing. The composer praised being"thrilled by the choices that he was making”, with the star making decisions “that he had brought to it himself”, and that “were part of Lestat” and “part of Sam’s particular vocal style and range”.
Vampire Life Is Not As Easy As Daniel Thought It’d Be
He’s Also Going To Have To Face A Major Returning Character
Though Lestat’s rockstar life will be a big part of it, season 3 will still have plenty of space for its other characters' arcs to continue, particularly Eric Bogosian’s Daniel after he was transformed into a vampire inInterview with the Vampireseason 2’s ending. The star teases that the veteran journalist"has a new lease on life" after being turned, denoting how the premiere saw him “hanging around at home” and “disgruntled” about things, while he now “really wants to grab the bull by the horns”. However, Bogosian teases that, as Daniel heads to Dubai, he will find life as a vampire is trickier than he imagined.
“He really wants to get into this vampire thing, but it turns out to be — without giving away any storylines or anything — much more challenging than he thought it was going to be,” Bogosian shared. “And he and Louis got very deep in the interview. It’s going to be very different interviewing Lestat. Or trying to, or wanting, to or whatever. He continues to try to interview [Lestat] and that’s going to be challenging as well. Love that. This is a tightrope of talking and not saying anything.”
Lestat and Louie won’t be the only characters Daniel is reunited with, either, as Bogosian confirms “Armand and Daniel will be face to face again” inInterview with the Vampireseason 3. Careful not to share too much information about this reunion, the star reveals they’ve “already shot some” of their scenes together,which he describes as being “pretty intense”. He also shared his excitement for two key characters about to be introduced from the books.
Marius and Gabriela are two amazing characters and I can’t wait to see that. I don’t even think I have any scenes with them really. But they are just amazing characters and very rich. I mean, I would love to meet Marius in the real world.
Check out our other SDCC 2025 interviews here:
Interview with the Vampireseason 3 is set to premiere in 2026.
Interview with the Vampire
Cast
Based on Anne Rice’s novel series that began in 1976, Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror fantasy series that explores the life of Louis de Pointe du Lac through an interview with a journalist. Told through flashbacks of Louis' life during the interview, the series examines Louis' relationship with the vampire that turned him, Lestat de Lioncourt, and a teenage girl named Claudia, whom he turns. The series is the first of Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe media franchise.
