Anne Rice's THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES Series No Longer in Development at Hulu
Anne Rice has been working on a series titled The Vampire Chronicles for a few years. The story follows the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt who serves as hero, antihero, and narrator of the show. Last year, the series was set up to be produced and developed by Hulu, but according to a recent report from Variety, that’s no longer the case.
There are eleven books in Rice's Vampire Chronicles series that the show will pull stories from. it all started with the 1976 book Interview with a Vampire. The series would have explored Lestat’s “vampiric origins to various adventures around the world."
According to the report, Rice and her team are now shopping her intellectual property to various studios and networks around Hollywood. It’s explained that this time, it’s being pitched “as a much larger TV package, and as a complete buyout of the TV/film rights.” There’s no reason given as to why Hulu and Rice split.
The report goes on to say the new package being shopped includes both The Vampire Chronicles and also Rice’s Mayfair Witches, which is currently set up at Warner Bros. That story is about a family of witches. “The asking price is said to be around $30 to $40 million, in addition to a $2.5 million buyout of Warner Bros.’ rights. In exchange for the huge upfront fee however, the new owner will hold the rights in perpetuity, and not just as an option.” Paramount Pictures is said to be among four or so bidders for the new package.
Rice was developing the pilot script for the series they were developing at Hulu and her son Christopher Rice was helping her. The goal was to deliver a faithful adaptation of Lestat’s story “as it is told in the books, complete with the many situations that readers expect to see.” Rice previously said:
“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.”
Before the news that Rice and Hulu were splitting ways hit, Rice offered an update on her The Vampire Chronicles Facebook page, saying:
“To all the wonderful, loyal and steadfast supporters of this page and of this show. We realize it’s been some time since we’ve given you an update. Please allow me to assure you that magnificently exciting things are happening behind the scenes and we are dyyyyyyyyyying to talk to you about them. But in this particular moment, we are sworn to secrecy. The minute, and I assure you, the MINUTE, we are free to discuss the latest developments, many of them the most exciting since we began work on this, we will do so, and we will do so here. This page is not dead. Like Lestat, this project will live forever. We know you thirst, and we, Lestat and all the others who share the dark gift shall satisfy that thirst very soon.”
Well, it’ll be interesting to see where The Vampire Chronicles lands next. Wherever it goes, though, I hope that they are a right fit for the property and do it justice.