Summary

• Interview With the Vampire was a financial success, grossing $223.7 million worldwide on a $60 million budget.
• Christian Slater and Tom Cruise were surprised a sequel to the film was not quickly greenlit after its initial success.
• Attempts to create a proper sequel to the film fell through, leading to the release of Queen of the Damned in 2002.

Interview With the Vampire will be celebrating its 30th anniversary later this year and the brand has seen a bit of a resurgence thanks to the AMC TV series of the same name that is also based on Anne Rice's novel. The film was a financial success upon release and, given how quickly sequels are greenlit nowadays, it's a bit shocking that a follow-up didn't materialize soon after. Also shocked by this notion is one of the film's stars, Christian Slater, who also says his co-star Tom Cruise expected a sequel to be made.

During a chat with ComicBook.com, Slater was promoting his upcoming The Spiderwick Chronicles series, and he revealed that both himself and Cruise were surprised that Interview With the Vampire didn't get an immediate sequel. Slater played the interviewer in the film, Daniel Molloy, while Cruise stole the show as the vampire Lestat. Pointing to how the film ended, Slater said:

Tom Cruise and I were both surprised that Interview With the Vampire didn't get a sequel. That would have been fun. I mean, he did bite me at the end of that thing.

Joy Brant, Slater's co-star on The Spiderwick Chronicles, stated in the same interview that a sequel would've definitely happened today, and it's a notion that the actor agreed with by saying, "Yeah, in this era, for sure."

Interview With the Vampire Was a Huge Hit upon Release

Directed by Neil Jordan, Interview With the Vampire is based on Rice's 1976 novel of the same name and focuses on Lestat (Cruise) and Louise (Brad Pitt), with the latter having been transformed into a vampire by Lestat in 1791. The film centers on their time together and how they turn a young girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunest in her feature film debut) into a vampire. The structure of the movie is framed by a present-day interview, in which Louis details his story to a San Francisco reporter (Slater). The film also stars Antonio Banderas and Stephen Rea.

The movie received decent reviews upon release, currently sitting with a 63 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was a financial success, grossing $223.7 million worldwide on a $60 million budget. The film also scored two Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Original Score, while Dunst received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Jordan did try to develop a proper sequel by attempting to adapt Rice's novel, The Vampire Lestat, but the project fell through. In 2002, Queen of the Damned was released, which contained plot elements from The Vampire Lestat and Rice's 1988 novel, The Queen of the Damned. None of the cast of Interview with the Vampire starred in the project, with Stuart Townsend taking on the role of Lestat. The film was notable for being the last film appearance of R&B singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in August 2001. Aaliyah took on the role of Akasha, the titular Queen of the story, and earned good reviews for her performance, although the film itself was panned by critics. The movie was also a financial misfire, grossing $45.4 million globally on a $35 million budget.

AMC's Interview With the Vampire series is gearing up to unleash its second season. In the meantime, the original movie can be streamed on Paramount+.