The Vampire Chronicles Series Lands at The CW; Justin Bieber Being Eyed for Lestat
Debi Moore
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In what’s being described as one of the biggest bloodbaths in TV history, The CW has emerged victorious in the battle to land the hot property “The Vampire Chronicles,” an adaptation of Anne Rice’s much-loved novels centered around the vampire known as Lestat. And some of their plans are sure to ruffle a few feathers…
Looking to fill the void left by the recently concluded “The Vampire Diaries,” the network outmuscled and outbid the much higher profile HBO, Netflix, and Amazon and expects to put the project in pre-production by the end of this summer.
While Rice and her fans were no doubt hoping for an outlet that would allow the graphic violence and nudity contained in the source material, The CW is considering an approach similar to what AMC has done with Negan and his f-bombs on “The Walking Dead”: shoot two different versions of certain scenes, one for broadcast and one for Blu-ray/VOD.
Rice is being diplomatic about the situation. “In the end,” she said, “we had to trust our instincts and go with the people who had the most enthusiasm for the series and would allow us the most artistic freedom.”
Her son, Christopher, who’s writing several episodes and will also be filling the showrunner role, enthused, “Just look at what The CW has done with their DC properties. Our goal is to one day have the ‘Chronicles,’ mom’s witches, and even a mummy or two all airing on different nights with cross-overs and spectacles the likes of which TV hasn’t even seen yet!”
As for who might be following in the iconic footsteps of Tom Cruise (and yes, Stuart Townsend) to portray the aforesaid Lestat, the Rices shared that they have their hearts set on none other than Justin Bieber. Before you scoff, Anne explained, “It’s vital that whoever plays Lestat be not only the right age, but also able to sing and convey that ‘rock star’ persona. We have the utmost confidence that Justin will be able to bring the Brat Prince to life…,” at which point Christopher jumped in with, “After all, who better to play a brat than a brat? Besides, he’s so dreamy.”
A few other names floating about are Stephen Amell as Marius; Robbie Amell as Louis, and the great Rutger Hauer, whom Anne always pictured as Lestat, instead playing his deformed, elderly creator, Magnus. And in a real shake-up, it’s rumored that Lestat’s friend and lover Nicolas de Lenfent, aka Nicki, is being “reimagined” as a woman with The CW said to have “The Originals” alum Danielle Campbell in mind for the part.
Stay tuned for further developments!
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