Posted in: AMC, Conventions, Current News, Events, NYCC, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: NYCC, The Vampire Lestat

The Vampire Lestat Extended First Look; Sheila Atim Cast as Akasha

Along with an extended first look at AMC's Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, we learned that Sheila Atim was officially cast as Akasha.

Based on the reaction to our past coverage, we can safely say that there's more than a handful of you out there interested in seeing what AMC Networks and Showrunner Rolin Jones's Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Delainey Hayles, Assad Zaman, and Eric Bogosian-starring series Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat (aka, "Interview with the Vampire" Season 3) has to offer during its panel session tonight at New York Comic Con (NYCC). With EP Mark Johnson, EP/Writer Hannah Moscovitch, Reid, Anderson, Bogosian, Zaman, and Jennifer Ehle on hand, what did we learn about the upcoming season? Sheila Atim (The Irregulars, The Underground Railroad) was officially cast as Akasha, the first vampire in existence. who was known among the vampires as The Great Mother and who held the Sacred Core, the source of power for all vampires.

In addition, Noah Reid (Schitt's Creek) is set as Larry, Ryan Kattner (Destroy All Neighbors) is set as Salamander, Seamus Patterson (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities) is set as Alex, and Sarah Swire (The Boys) is set as TC. Following that, we were treated to an extended first look (which we have waiting for you above).

Here's a quick look at what went down tonight, followed by a look back at what we previously learned about the season:

Checking in with Variety Studio during San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), the team covered a ton of topics regarding what's to come, and we have some of those highlights to pass along. Reid and Jones did a great job talking up just how surprised fans would be at what they were getting during the panel, considering they've only been filming for about a month. From there, they address just how important support from the LGBTQ community has been, Jones teases "ancient vampire power" being unleashed during Season 3, Reid addresses if the Queen of the Damned will come into play, Bogosian shares what it's like shifting into vampire mode, Reid discusses what it was like giving into the music before seeing a script, and some of the season's musical influences.

The Vampire Lestat: Lestat's Mom Makes Major Season 3 Impact

Checking in with EW, Jones, Reid, and Anderson discussed how Composer Daniel Hart has crafted some real "earworms" (including a song that sounds like it might have some Chappell Roan influence), how the music is used in a way that matters, and – in a wild change in topic – the impact that Lestat's mother, Gabrielle, will have on things (spoiler: think in terms of a asteroid).

Daniel Hart's Chappell Roan-Vibing Song and Other "Earworms": Reid –  "[Composer] Daniel Hart did tell me a couple of months ago that he spent an entire week listening solely to Chappell Roan, and I think there's probably a song that feels quite like her. He's written earworms."

Season 3 Will Be Music-Heavy But Not Just "Dropped In": Jones – "What you didn't want is songs just dropped in. Quite often, we would build scenes and story arcs around songs that Daniel wrote and said, 'I think Lestat would have sang this' … He's on a rock tour, so songs will be sung. A lot of them are on-camera performed, and then a lot of them are tied to memories that we have, and sometimes we get super weird with them. And sometimes they're wallpaper, too, for storytelling."

Reid, Anderson, Jones on Gabrielle's (Lestat's Mother) Season 3 Impact: "It affects him greatly. She's definitely here," Reid teased about Lestat's mother, with Anderson adding, "If you know, you know." While storyline details were on lockdown, Jones said that viewers should expect Gabrielle to have a significant impact on the season. "She's coming in like an asteroid in season 3. She's about to destroy everything in her wake," he shared.

Interview with the Vampire S03: Sam Reid on Rockstar Lestat & More

With filming currently underway, Reid offered some interesting insights heading into SDCC weekend regarding what viewers can expect from his Lestat, the rockstar, when the series returns. As we've learned, Lestat isn't going to let Louis (Anderson) and Daniel's (Bogosian) book be the final say on what went down, tackling a world tour to help get his side of things out. And while we're not sure if SDCC will be the place, Reid noted to EW that fans could be getting to sample Lestat's rock vocals sooner rather than later. "You'll probably be hearing some music," he shared. "I hope people are happy. You know that some people are never going to be happy, but all we can do is approach it with love and care, which we are. There's a lot of love and care being put into it." Here are some highlights from the profile piece:

Reid on Lestat, The Rockstar (and How He Wouldn't Be a Big Twisted Sister Fan: "A rock star is no more different than an actor on the 18th-century stage — it's just the same thing in different periods. You could just look at Twisted Sister and question, 'What is going on there?' But that's not a reference! So no one panic. We're not doing that — just thinking about rock star clowns, they're a good example [smiling]. I don't think Lestat would think much of Twisted Sister, which is unfortunate."

Reid on Working with Composer Daniel Hart for "Quite a Long" Time: "I've been with him, working with him on the songs first. It's been a really interesting way to approach a character, by coming in through the music to start with, before we had any scripts. Trying to work out the character's arcs through the songs has been an adventure in itself."

Reid on Lestat's Musical Influences: "Lestat is a bit of a mercurial character himself, and there's something very interesting about a character who would love to play a symphony as well as a David Bowie song. How he incorporates all of his influences and how he discovers his personal sound is part of the journey of the show."

Reid on Rock Music/Vampire Connection: "There's something inherently vampiric about rock music, and that's not really necessarily what is the flavor of the month at the moment in terms of what is desirable in music. And so there's something about harking back to sounds that might feel from different periods, but also trying to bring them back into the now and the contemporary, but also tie them into his own personal journey. Because I think at the end of the day, Lestat is a musician that writes from personal experience."

Joining the cast for the 2026-premiering Season 3: "The Vampire Lestat" are Jennifer Ehle (Lioness) as Gabriella, Ella Ballentine (Black Conflux) as Baby Jenks, Jeanine Serralles (Apples Never Fall) as Christine Claire, Christopher Heyerdahl (Under the Banner of Heaven) as Marius, and Damien Atkins (Slings & Arrows) as Magnus.

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