Interview With the Vampire Has Set Itself a Bittersweet Challenge in Season 3

AMC’s Interview with the Vampire simply thrives on reinventing what we expect from an Anne Rice adaptation. It’s already faced the challenge of giving us a more up-to-date look at Lestat and Louis’ journey than Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt’s 1994 movie outing. With excellent casting and ample opportunity to develop over hours of screen time, the series has absolutely succeeded in delivering much more than that film could offer.

Now, the show is moving into Queen of the Damned territory by introducing the character of Akasha. Played by Aaliyah in the 2002 standalone sequel to the Cruise-Pitt flick, Akasha arguably became the most beloved of Rice’s onscreen vampires. That’s down to both the singer’s fantastic performance but also her tragic death at such a young age before its release.

News that The Woman King breakout star Sheila Atim would be stepping into the role of Akasha in season 3 has been welcome, but fans are still feeling their feelings about it. After the news, one Aaliyah fan said, “It’s cool to compare for conversation, but no one will ever come close to topping Aaliyah’s role in Queen of the Damned,” while another fan posted that “She is definitely our Queen of the Damned and Mother of all Vampires, and I think Aaliyah would be proud.”

Atim will no doubt be a great Akasha in Interview with the Vampire. Although the team behind the series will be bringing us a new incarnation of the character and navigating her lasting impression on audiences, the greatest challenge in season 3 might be avoiding the mistakes of Queen of the Damned. That movie largely skipped over Lestat’s journey in Rice’s second novel, The Vampire Lestat, pushing him further into the future and into the arms of nu metal, in a move that neither book fans nor Rice herself particularly embraced.

Season 3 of Interview with the Vampire will again focus on Lestat’s rock star dreams as he aims to establish himself as the most immortal rock star the world has ever seen. In doing so, it will need to give both Lestat and Akasha’s stories room to breathe, ensuring that Akasha’s introduction does not feel like an afterthought but a key moment in the story. After all, Akasha is also a character with a compelling history. She’s not just a villain but a symbol of the painful origins of Rice’s entire vampire mythos. 

If there’s anyone who can finally thread Lestat and Akasha’s dynamic together properly onscreen, it’s this creative team, who have proved time and again that they can be trusted with Rice’s vampire legacy.

Interview with the Vampire season 3, now known as The Vampire Lestat, will premiere in 2026.