THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Extended Trailer Brings a Haunting Reunion and a Surprise Return
AMC has released the first full extended trailer for the third season of its Interview With the Vampire adaptation, The Vampire Lestat. The trailer debuted at New York Comic-Con before hitting the internet, and if you’re a fan of this franchise, I’m sure You’ll like what it teases.
Though production on the series is still underway in Toronto, the footage gives us a preview of where things are headed next.
Sam Reid returns as Lestat, who’s embraced his rockstar alter ego, while Jacob Anderson’s Louis steps back into the story for what looks to be a tense reunion. The trailer also marks the return of Delainey Hayles as Claudia, which is might be a shock for fans, considering her fate at the end of Season 2.
During the panel, Eric Bogosian (Daniel), Assad Zaman (Armand), and Jennifer Ehle (Gabriela) joined Reid and Anderson to discuss what’s next for their characters. Fans were also treated to the exciting reveal that Sheila Atim has joined the cast as Akasha, the iconic vampire queen once portrayed by the late Aaliyah in The Queen of the Damned.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reid opened up about how Claudia’s death will continue to haunt his character:
“Claudia is going to be the biggest mistake Lestat has ever made in his entire life — not the fact that she’s alive, but the fact that she died. The death of Claudia is going to be the thing that haunts him forever, and I wish that he did save her.
“I’m not sure if he knew that he could, but the fact that he saw her look at him with a pure connection at the end — and the two of them did share a connection at multiple times in their lives.
“I think he’ll never get that image [of Claudia dying] out of his head, and I think what it does is it also sets us up for a relationship with a haunting of Claudia and Lestat that is quite exciting.”
Reid continued: “I think we’ve got the potential of not letting Claudia go, because Lestat has not gotten any closure there, and he has a lot to atone for. He has done some really terrible things, and I think a wonderful motivation for a character going forward is shame.”
The official synopsis teases a blend of blood, fame, and redemption as Lestat decides to reclaim his story:
“Resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy bestseller ‘Interview With The Vampire,’ the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can — by starting a band and going on tour.
“Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed and others we can’t tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time and trauma. No Auto-Tuning. No Trigger Warnings. All Feels Amplified.”
Between the reappearance of Claudia, Lestat’s twisted fame-fueled rebirth, and Akasha’s upcoming arrival, this season looks ready to sink its fangs deeper into Anne Rice’s universe than ever before. And if that wasn’t enough, AMC also dropped a new look at the upcoming spin-off series, Talamasca: The Secret Order, hinting at even more connections across Rice’s world of immortals and mystics.
The Vampire Lestat hits AMC and AMC+ in 2026.