New York Comic Con 2025 was held from Oct. 9 to Oct. 12. This weekend featured panels, cosplay, and major TV and movie announcements from notable properties like Marvel and Star Wars. A smaller, yet expanding franchise, also had a panel at the con: Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe. This AMC/AMC+ production includes Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches, and Talamasca: The Secret Order.
The event featured discussions with the franchise’s actors and producer Mark Johnson, as well as a 3-minute first look at the third season of Interview with the Vampire. The Immortal Universe is not the first adaptation of Anne Rice’s Gothic horror novels. A movie version of Interview with the Vampire was released in 1994, starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst. A sequel film came out in 2002, with a brand-new cast, following the story of Rice’s Queen of the Damned, which features Aaliyah as the titular vampire.
The movie series skipped the second novel, The Vampire Lestat, which is the basis of AMC’s upcoming season. This means that Lestat’s background has never been adapted before. Anne Rice’s most well-known stories center on Louis and Lestat, a vampire and his maker, as they navigate their relationship, their ilk, and the changing times.
Long face
New York Comic Con unveiled a “first look” at the third season of Interview with the Vampire, after the franchise released a short teaser and song in 2024. The second book in The Vampire Chronicles, and the newest source of inspiration for the production, follows Lestat as he becomes a rock star, flaunting his vampiric nature after the publication of Louis’s interview. Fans got a glimpse at Lestat’s music and fashion choices as the 18th century adjusts to the 2020s.
San Diego reveals
The teaser played at New York Comic Con was the second iteration fans watched. At San Diego Comic Con in late July, showrunner Rolin Jones presented an exclusive teaser that was not released in an official capacity. However, it was circulated on social media sites, offering fans a pixelated glimpse of the upcoming season. The Interview with the Vampire creators also released new content over the summer; immediately after the panel at the convention, a behind-the-scenes video with short performance clips was posted on YouTube.
Several new casting decisions were also announced. Lestat’s mother, Gabriella, will be portrayed by Jennifer Ehle. Christine Claire, his lawyer, is to be played by Jeanine Serralles. The vampires Marius and Magnus will be brought to life by Christopher Heyerdahl and Damien Atkins, respectively. Finally, Ella Ballentine was cast as Baby Jenks, a young fledgling.
New York, new teaser
The panel at New York Comic Con featured plenty of new content from season three. Series actors Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, and Jennifer Ehle teased upcoming scenes and relationships at the Con.
New York also revealed arguably the most-awaited casting announcement: Akasha. Ugandan British stage actress Sheila Atim was cast as the mother of all vampires. In this role, she reunites with previous costars Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson.
The first minute of the teaser trailer fails to show the titular vampire, Lestat; instead, it focuses on a conversation between Louis and the writer Daniel Molloy, discussing the interview and Lestat’s reaction to it. When he finally appears, Lestat is in a seemingly drugged-up bliss, which is spliced with clips of further partying and childhood memories. Many characters make their first appearance in the season’s promotional material through the video. The French vampire Magnus, Dr. Fareed Bhansali (from season one of the show), Talamasca agent Raglan James, and Baby Jenks all have a few seconds of screentime in the trailer.
Apart from revealing the full cast of characters, the first look video also depicts Lestat’s fashion evolution. He previously appeared in the styles of 1794, 1910, and 1949, but this is the first time he has donned modern clothes. Lestat has previously experimented with androgyny in these older time periods, and based on the quick looks we got at his new outfits, this trend continues in the new season. One of the tops he wears is a vintage sheer stained-glass Jean Paul Gaultier design. Lestat also appears in cropped fur coats and silk corsets, alluding to the traditional silhouettes he grew up seeing from women. These soft looks are complemented by messy eyeliner, blush, and a pair of black combat boots for that rockstar edge.
Additionally, the teaser is set to one of Lestat’s songs. This track, and all others in Interview with the Vampire, were composed by the musician Daniel Hart. Unlike his earlier contributions to the show, Hart’s songs for season three are not instrumental, telling Lestat’s journey through lyrics. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hart listed David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, and even Chappell Roan as influences for Lestat’s sound.
The first look video contained many intriguing details for impatient fans anticipating the new season. If you haven’t watched the series yet, catch up on the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire on AMC+ or Netflix and make sure to watch season three, titled The Vampire Lestat, when it premieres in 2026.