RIP Interview With the Vampire, Long Live The Vampire Lestat

It’s a busy weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, and just as we expected, some major blood-soaked news has dropped straight from the Interview with the Vampire panel. Or should we say…The Vampire Lestat panel?

Yeah. It’s official, folks. RIP Interview with the Vampire. The third season of the beloved AMC series has been reborn with a new name, and we can’t say we’re shocked. “Anne Rice didn’t write a book called Interview With the Vampire Season 3,” showrunner Rolin Jones told the SDCC crowd on July 26. “Season 3 is officially The Vampire Lestat.” Honestly? It makes sense. With such a massive universe and a mountain of books left to adapt, sticking with the old title felt like a coffin too tight to hold the growing lore. We saw this change coming, and we’re very here for it.

But that’s just the beginning. There’s a lot to unpack, so bear with us as we sink our teeth into everything we’ve learned so far about the upcoming season.

As previously announced, the third season will premiere sometime in 2026 on AMC and AMC+, and yes, our vampire drama queen, Sam Reid, is returning as Lestat. Alongside him, Jacob Anderson will be back as Louis, Eric Bogosian returns as Daniel, and during the panel, it was confirmed that Assad Zaman (Armand) and Delainey Hayles (Claudia) are also reprising their roles. It’s the immortal family reunion we’ve been waiting for.

New cast members were also revealed, including Jennifer Ehle, who will play Lestat’s mother, now named Gabriella (a slight name change from the book’s Gabrielle). Ella Ballentine is stepping into the role of Baby Jenks, straight from The Queen of the Damned pages. Jeanine Serralles joins as Christine Claire, the lawyer of rockstar Lestat. Christopher Heyerdahl has been cast as Marius, and Damien Atkins will appear as Magnus, the vampire responsible for turning Lestat. And yes, the role of Akasha has been cast, but according to the panel, the ink isn’t dry yet—so we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out who’ll bring the Queen of the Damned to life. Please, casting gods, let it be iconic.

In case that wasn’t wild enough, the show is also teaming up with Fender for a custom guitar line called “The Lestrat.” Yes, seriously. Each guitar will be more elaborate—and bloodier—than the last, culminating in a hand-painted model that’ll be revealed during the season finale. The first custom guitar, The Lestrat: Petit Coup, was on display during the panel, and composer Daniel Hart closed things out with a little musical tease using the instrument. Designed by Fender alongside production designer Andrés Cubillán, these guitars are already a work of vampy art. Do we know how to play guitar? Absolutely not. Are we manifesting one of these for our apartment wall? You bet your undead heart we are.

But let’s get to what we’re really here for: the trailers.

Two teaser videos were released, and yes, they gave us life. First up was a behind-the-scenes featurette, offering a decadent glimpse of what’s to come. Sam Reid teases that we’ll see Lestat “living a rockstar life in its most hedonistic, authentic way,” and based on the sparkling chaos of the sets and costumes, we believe it. Flashbacks. Glitter. Leather. Corsets. Fire. Yes, please. It’s everything we hoped Rockstar Lestat would look like, and more. Watch the BTS teaser below:

Did y’all see that? Lestat. Playing the violin. In a corset. Nicky/Lestat nation, how are we feeling? Because we are feral.

And just when we thought we were already fed, AMC dropped a second video: a 3-minute exclusive first look. And y’all, we get everything. A conversation between Louis and Daniel where we learn how Louis feels about the book he and Daniel released, glimpses of Lestat as a human, that disturbing plotline with his mother, and yes, it looks like the show won’t shy away from addressing the sexual abuse Lestat endured. We’re honestly relieved to see the series treating that part of his backstory with the gravity it deserves. Oh, and did we mention what very much looks like a supernatural divorce litigation between Louis and Lestat? Yeah, you read that right.

We’re talking heartbreak, drama, sexual tension, 18th-century wigs, and some deeply Ricean mess. “We are going to the past. It’s not all rock star. It is the 1700s, and everything you want to see,” said Sam Reid. “Rolin found a way to adapt a near-impossible book to adapt. The themes are all there. It is all there. The whole canon is there for us. We are trying to create something honorable.” 

The exclusive first look hasn’t been uploaded to AMC’s official YouTube channel just yet, but as soon as it drops, we’ll update this post with the video. Trust us, you’ll want to see it.

Needless to say, our expectations are high, and they should be. No official release date has been announced yet, but if we had a time machine (or the Dark Gift), we’d be skipping straight to 2026. The transformation from Interview With the Vampire to The Vampire Lestat feels like more than just a name change; it’s a shift into something bolder, weirder, and possibly even queerer.

And if the SDCC panel gave us anything, it’s this: The Vampire Lestat is ready to bare its fangs.

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The first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire are available to stream on AMC+ (US) and Prime Video (Globally). Season 1 of Interview with the Vampire is available to stream on Netflix (US only). Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Image Courtesy of AMC Networks.