'The Vampire Chronicles' TV adaptation news, release date: Anne Rice developing novel series for TV

"Interview with the Vampire" author Anne Rice has regained the rights to her "The Vampire Chronicles" and is adapting the popular series of novels for television.

Rice published "Interview with the Vampire," the first novel in the series, in 1976. She has since written 12 other installments, the latest being "Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis," which was released earlier this year.

"The Vampire Chronicles" has spawned two film adaptations and redefined the vampire genre for over two decades. The author said that despite previous plans for more film adaptations, she will be working with her son, Christopher Rice, to develop an epic television series adaptation.

"The theatrical rights to the Vampire Chronicles are once again in my hands, free and clear!" Rice wrote in a Facebook post. "I could not be more excited about this," she continued.

"A television series of the highest quality is now my dream for Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius and the entire tribe," she added. "In this the new Golden Age of television, such a series is THE way to let the entire story of the vampires unfold," she said.

According to Rice, Christopher will develop a pilot script as well as a detailed outline for "an open-ended series, faithfully presenting Lestat's story as it is told in the books, complete with the many situations that readers expect to see." She also revealed that they would probably begin with "The Vampire Lestat" (1985), the second novel in the series, and move on from there.

"Interview with the Vampire" was turned into a feature film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in 1994. The film, which also featured Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas, was commercially successful, but neither Cruise nor Pitt wanted to reprise their roles for a sequel.

A second film adaptation, 2002's "Queen of the Damned," starred the late R&B singer Aaliyah and Stuart Townsend. It was based off the similarly titled third installment in "The Vampire Chronicles." Unfortunately, unlike "Interview," this film flopped.

According to Deadline, in 2012, Imagine Entertainment began developing a film based on "The Tale of the Body Thief," the fourth novel in the series. However, this project was cancelled due to creative differences. Another attempt at a film adaptation was made in 2014 when Universal acquired the motion picture rights to the series, but this, too, was canned.