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Will Jared Leto Become The New Lestat In ‘Interview With The Vampire’ Reboot?

By Jennifer Ricketts
Published on: 11:38 PST, May 8, 2016

When news broke that Jared Leto had been cast as the Joker in Suicide Squad, the Internet went crazy. When a photo of the actor in character as the Joker was tweeted, the Internet went crazy again. Now he’s causing a stir as various sources are reporting that he might be cast as Lestat de Lioncourt in the upcoming Interview with the Vampire reboot.

The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone first posted a photo on Instagram of the finished Interview with the Vampire screenplay that he co-wrote with Jill Killington, revealing that Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment’s remake of the 1994 film, dubbed The Vampire Chronicles, is indeed moving ahead. The remake will be based on Anne Rice’s novels, Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.

Many fans were not happy with the snap of the screenplay. Metro reports one fan wrote on the Instagram photo in all capital letters, “NO BODY F*****G WANTS THIS. YOU ARE UNORIGINAL.”

Boone then stirred up even more ire from fans when he tweeted a photo of Jared Leto and wrote, “Lestat – there can be only one. #JaredLeto”

Shortly before the Leto tweet, Anne Rice’s son, Christopher Rice, also a writer, tweeted there will be major announcements coming soon.

Rumors quickly began circulating that Leto had definitely been cast as the new Lestat, although Bloody Disgusting listed three possible reasons Boone tweeted the photo of Leto. He could be messing with fans’ heads, showing he wants Leto as Lestat, or announcing Leto is Lestat.

One fan on Twitter said Leto is the way for the movie to fail, while another said Margot Robbie should play Lestat while keeping the character male.

Not all fans hated the news. Some were supportive of Leto taking on the role. Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice asked on Facebook who fans thought should be Lestat, and Jared Leto’s name came up several times.

Metro asked its readers in a poll if they will watch the remake of Interview with the Vampire whether Leto is in it or not. Many said they don’t plan on seeing the film.

  • 39 percent – No, I’m loyal to the 1994 original.
  • 25 percent – Yes, pass the popcorn.
  • 20 percent – Maybe, it could be good?
  • 16 percent – No way, especially if Jared Leto is in it.

In 2014, Universal and Imagine Entertainment acquired the rights to the Vampire Chronicles series of books, and not much else was known except that writer/director Josh Boone was involved with the project. May 5 marked the 40th anniversary of the publication of Interview with the Vampire.

Previous incarnations of Lestat include Tom Cruise in 1994’s Interview with the Vampire and Stuart Townsend in 2002’s Queen of the Damned. The original 1994 film was directed by Neil Jordan and received two Oscar nominations and critical acclaim.

If Leto is indeed Lestat, this won’t be the first time casting news for the character has caused an uproar among fans. When Tom Cruise was cast for the original film, fans went a little crazy along with Anne Rice herself. Rice said she envisioned the role being perfect for Rutger Hauer; however, Cruise’s take on the rock star vampire turned out to be amazing.

As Gizmodo points out, there hasn’t been confirmation yet whether Leto will be the new Lestat, and Boone’s tweet could be a joke as “there can only be one” is a Highlander quote. With widely varied roles in films such as Fight Club, Panic Room, Requiem for a Dream, American Psycho, and the upcoming Suicide Squad, Jared Leto might just be a perfect fit for Lestat. Uproxx adds Leto’s method acting would shake things up, and stories from the set would be spectacular.

Do you think Jared Leto will definitely play Lestat in the Interview with the Vampire reboot?

[Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images]

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