The Vampire Chronicles on Film?!?!?!??!

I've been having writer's block all day up until this moment. According to SlashFilm, according to BloodyDisgusting, it seems that Universal Studios is planning on bringing back my favorite vampire series ever back to the big screen. You heard it here first, folks! Or second... or third... The Vampire Lestat will be charming audiences worldwide (unless of course it's another Queen of the Damned in which case he'll be making them cry...) very soon it seems. I had been wondering for a while if all this vampire hubub would spark another Anne Rice vamp revival so I'm happy (albeit a little scared) that this will finally be happening. However... according to sources unknown, they're thinking of casting the one, the only... Robert Downey, Jr. for the part.

....I'll let that sink in for a bit.

Perhaps you are as puzzled as I am. What makes studio execs think that Downey would be the best man for the part? I mean, he's a terrific actor, don't get me wrong. And handsome to boot. Maybe I'm just still recovering from seeing him in black face in Tropic Thunder, but I don't really know if he would really make a good Lestat. Although I know they couldn't do this (probably due to some underground vampire code), one person that comes to mind that would probably make a good Lestat is TrueBlood's Eric Northman (played by Alexander Skarsgard.) However, I don't really see that happening, as much as I really would not mind.

...You can see it, can't you? Either way... whoever makes this film should seriously keep in mind that Lestat was 21 years old when he was made. Even if he is 200+ years old now, he shouldn't look much older (hinthint that bullshit they pulled casting Antonio Banderas for the role of 17-year-old Armand in the first film)

Way to disappoint all your fans there. But really... the casting for the Vampire Chronicles has always been shaky at best. Kirstin Dunst made for an alright Claudia, but I think the list ends there. Brad Pitt's Louis was unconvincing for me. I enjoyed the first film, but it was strictly Hollywood.

Tom Cruise as Lestat was very pro/con. I think that Cruise almost nailed Lestat's attitude (in Louis' eyes, anyhow), but that's about it. He just did not look anything like I would imagine Lestat to look like. And now that I read that Rice had Rutger Hauer in mind when she wrote the part, it seems absurd to use someone like Cruise, who isn't even a natural blonde (I guess vampires really love to bleach their hair?)

When I first heard about the Queen of the Damned film, I was an overly excited teen. The books were still fresh in my mind. After the announcement, the news came that relatively unknown Stuart Townshend would be stepping in to play Lestat. He had the look, somewhat. Alright, i'll admit the adolescent in me was swooning a bit for that guy (although my tastes have since changed... drastically.) Plus, i hadn't seen him in anything else. It wasn't like seeing Cruise and thinking... Cocktail? Really? This guy seemed like he could do no wrong. That is until... the movie began. The entire film was completely ridiculous. They left out huge, monumentally important parts of the book completely out and emphasized all the wrong things. And everyone's main focus anyway was Aaliyah (poor girl.)

So after 2 films, what's left for the third one? Will the start over from the beginning, pull a Nolan, and essentially save the Chronicles from what will otherwise be a lame attempt at making money and leaving fans disenchanted for life? I've always wanted to see The Vampire Lestat hit the big screen. Memnoch the Devil would also be interesting. Tale of the Body Thief would be way too much to ask for, not to mention something that I don't feel most audiences would be ready for. Maybe we can just prep them with a better version of Interview, for now. Maybe add more Armand in there, certainly. Either way, i'll be following this one extremely closely.