Nerd News

⚡ Quick Take

• An Adventure Time movie and two spinoff series are currently in the works. Little is known yet about the film project.
• The two spinoff series are Adventure Time Side Quests and Adventure Time Heyo BM. These two series are geared toward kids.

Lovers of Adventure Time may have a big reason to rejoice. An Adventure Time movie is in the works. According to a release from Warner Bros. Discovery, The Adventure Time Movie is officially a go. While we don’t have many details yet, The Adventure Time Movie includes animation talent like Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar, Over the Garden Wall creator Patrick McHale, and Adventure Time showrunner Adam Muto. All of these creative talents have worked on Adventure Time before. In addition to the Adventure Time Movie, two other spinoff series are in the works.

Table of contents

• The Adventure Time Movie Description
• Other Adventure Time Spinoff Series in the Works
  • Adventure Time: Side Quests (Kids series, Cartoon Network)
  • Adventure Time: Heyo BMO (Preschool series, Cartoon Network)

The Adventure Time Movie Description

As mentioned, we don’t know too much about what this Adventure Time movie will include, but a release notes that its current description is as follows: “Jake and Finn embark on their greatest adventure yet.” We can’t wait to see what that will mean.

Warner Bros.Other Adventure Time Spinoff Series in the Works

In addition to an Adventure Time movie, two spinoff series are also said to be in development. First up is Adventure Time: Side Quests, which will take viewers back to when Finn was a daydreaming child who went on fantasy adventures with his best friend, Jake the Dog. This Adventure Time series will have standalone episodes “starring early versions of fan-favorite characters, including the sometime-villain The Ice King.” In addition, Adventure Time: Heyo BMO will be a series aimed toward younger children featuring BMO.

You can check out the full information we have about them so far below:

Adventure Time: Side Quests (Kids series, Cartoon Network)Hulu

• Description: Adventure Time: Side Quests takes the Adventure Time franchise back to the early days when Finn was just a kid, excited to fight monsters and go on epic quests with his best buddy Jake. In stand-alone episodes, our heroes take on classic Adventure Time villains like The Ice King and re-connect with stand-out side characters from the original series.
• Creative Talent: Nate Cash
• Studio: Cartoon Network Studios

Adventure Time: Side Quests will officially release on June 29. You can watch the trailer below.

A release further notes:

A companion to the beloved original, Emmy®, Peabody, and Annie Award-winning series Adventure Time, the new series follows young hero Finn and his magical dog best friend Jake as they embark on adventures across the fantastical land of Ooo — partying with cloud people and punching evil in the butt along the way.

Adventure Time captivated audiences with its heartfelt storytelling, playful humour, and richly creative world. AdventureTime: Side Quests builds on the spirit of the early seasons, delivering lighter, self-contained adventures. Designed to introduce a new generation of fans to the land of Ooo, whilst giving existing fans more of what they love, the series brings standalone, silly quests and playful challenges – celebrating the joyful chaos of Finn and Jake’s adventures.

Finn the Human is voiced by Sasha Knight and John DiMaggio returns as the voice of Jake the Dog. The series will also reunite fan-favourite characters including Ice King (Tom Kenny), Princess Bubblegum (Hynden Walch), Marceline (Olivia Olson), and BMO (Niki Yang).

Showrunner and Executive Producer, Nate Cash said: “Making Side Quests felt like making the original Adventure Time, which felt like hanging out with art school buddies making professional cartoons. That sounds like a big sandwich of feelings, and it was! You’re going to love these NEW adventures with Finn & Jake!”

Adventure Time: Heyo BMO (Preschool series, Cartoon Network)

• Description: In the fantastical Land of Ooo, the little robot BMO is on a new adventure! Now settled in a new neighborhood with new friends, BMO approaches each challenge he faces with his unique brand of enthusiasm and curiosity in a quest to learn and fill his database.
• Creative Talent: Adam Muto, Ashlyn Anstee
• Studio: Cartoon Network Studios

We’ll be excited to hear more about all of these upcoming Adventure Time offerings.

Originally published on June 12, 2024.

The post ADVENTURE TIME Movie in the Works, Plus 2 Spinoff Series appeared first on Nerdist.

Google is making Gemini 3.5 the default model in NotebookLM

A new feature in the Amazon Shopping app allows users to generate designs with Alexa, then print them on products like T-shirts, hoodies, and tumblers.

The messaging giant announced that it disrupted a phishing campaign targeting its users with NSO’s spyware.

The FTX co-founder is serving a 25-year sentence, doled out in 2024.

There are so many ways to dive into the Doctor Who fandom. The show has decades of episodes and various points that are easy for new fans to hop into. There are a slew of Big Finish Audio dramas that either expand stories that we wished we saw onscreen or introduce new elements of the Whoniverse altogether. Do you like comics and games? There are plenty of Doctor Who ones to enjoy. But if you’re into hands-on projects and love to celebrate your Who devotion, then Crochet AmiguWHOmi: Adventures in Time and Space by Liz Ward is perfect for you. Crochet AmiguWHOmi: Adventures in Time and Space, by Liz Ward; published by Ten Speed Press, 2026

This book is full of crochet projects to craft iconic characters and objects from the franchise’s various eras. It’s the perfect way to vibe out, flex your creative muscles, and create something that’s worthy of display in your abode. We have exclusive excerpts from Crochet AmiguWHOmi to highlight two beloved figures from Doctor Who: the TARDIS and companion Rose Tyler. 

As we all know, the TARDIS is one of the most famous spaceships in pop culture history. It has been a mainstay in Doctor Who since the show’s first episode premiered in 1963. While it has gone through some regenerations of its own in the inside, the police box exterior looks mostly the same, thanks to that broken chameleon circuit. Crochet AmiguWHOmi gives you a nice breakdown of the TARDIS’ history and shows you how to make your own crochet version step-by-step. Here’s a peek at some of those steps as well as the finished product: 

Ten Speed PressTen Speed Press

When it comes to modern era companions, Rose Tyler ranks high among the fandom’s faves for good reason. For many of us, she was the first companion that they ever met over twenty years ago. From a teenager who was bored with her life working in a shop to a time-traveling girl boss who ran straight towards dangerous otherworldly forces, Rose had an incredibly powerful arc that resonated with many younger Who fans.

Click To View Gallery Ten Speed Press Ten Speed Press Ten Speed Press

While she has so many classic looks, many of which are hard for cosplayers to find, Crochet AmiguWHOmi chose her Union Jack shirt look from “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances” for this crochet project. 

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DOCTOR WHO to Stream Exclusively on AMC+ Starting June 11

In addition to these projects, you can craft the Fourth Doctor’s iconic colorful scarf, a wee Cyberman or Dalek, and even a time vortex blanket. Crochet AmiguWHOmi will go on sale June 9, so get ready to spend your summer streaming Doctor Who and making cool creations. You can grab your copy right here.

The post Learn How to Make Your Own TARDIS With CROCHET AMIGUWHOMI (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Scary Movie’s “Subservient Ghostface” website mocks Scream and AI by letting you control an actual human version of the iconic killer.

The new Scary Movie might not be for everyone, but its new website has something for everyone to enjoy. That’s because it will let you do almost anything you want. The parody franchise found yet another way to mock Scream. And it did so in a way that also mocks the latest installment in the horror series, which made AI a major plot point. You can get Scream‘s iconic killer to do whatever you want (sort of) at Subservient Ghostface, a very silly website that relies on good old-fashioned human silliness and not artificial intelligence.

Paramount Pictures

Subservient Ghostface is exactly what it sounds like. It features a slightly swaying sociopath in the legendary mask and black robes waiting for you to enter a prompt of no more than 50 characters. When you hit enter, it then follows your instructions. What makes it so funny is that it does not employ AI. This is not a computer-generated Ghostface. It’s a real person in a real costume who clearly acted out a whole lot of possible prompts in anticipation of what you might ask. I told it to make a cup of tea, and it pulled exactly that from behind its bath. I instructed Subservient Ghostface to do math, and the slasher whipped out a calculator. It then typed in “8008.”

Perfect.

Paramount Pictures

The broader your prompt, the more likely you are to get an appropriate response. But if you get really specific and weird by typing in something like “contemplate life” or “eat a stack of pancakes,” then Ghostface performs a non-sequitur, like running or laughing at you.

This is not only a very fitting way to promote Scary Movie. It also takes aim at the most recent Scream, which brought back long-dead characters via AI (in the world of the story, not in actuality). In that way, this Subservient Ghostface site makes fun of Scream in two very different ways.

Well three. Type in “make fun of Scream” to see the third. Subservient Ghostface will not let you down.

The post SCARY MOVIE ‘Subservient Ghostface’ Website Mocks SCREAM and AI appeared first on Nerdist.

Bending Spoons say its app caters to a user base of over 500 million monthly active users.

⚡ Quick Take

• In our exclusive interview, The Vampire Lestat/Interview with the Vampire showrunner Rolin Jones promises that we WILL see Daniel’s vampiric turning on our screens IF we get a season four.
• Armand turned Daniel into a vampire at the end of Interview with the Vampire season two, but we never got to see the actual moment.
• Armand turning Daniel is a huge moment for the pair in Anne Rice’s books, and fans are hoping to finally see it adapted on screen.

In season two of Interview with the Vampire, something very important took place that was both expected and shocking. After centuries without making a fledgeling, The Vampire Armand turned Daniel Molloy into a vampire. Of course, Armand is Daniel’s vampiric maker in the Anne Rice books as well, but the timeline is very different in the series and the books. Still, fans of Armand, Daniel, and Devil’s Minion were delighted with this turn of events. HOWEVER, the actual moment of Daniel’s turning wasn’t shown on screen in Interview with a Vampire season two, only its aftermath some months later. And this has left fans curious about whether we’ll ever see Daniel’s turning in full. A desire compounded by how important the scene is to the relationship between Armand and Daniel in the Anne Rice book, Queen of the Damned. Armed with fan curiosity and my own, I took the question to showrunner Rolin Jones in the lead-up to The Vampire Lestat. So, will we see Armand turn Daniel into a vampire on screen? …Yes, but not yet.

AMC

The Vampire Lestat showrunner, Rolin Jones, is a true gift to fans. It’s a known fact that he always goes out of his way to speak to those who love the show at events and offers up his true perspectives and insights when he’s able. And, in response to the question of whether Daniel’s turning into a vampire would make it to our screens, Jones was much the same. “Look, I’ll do this.” Jones said, squaring with me, “If they give us a season four, you’ll see it.”

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Next to Jones, Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson burst out into cackles. “You’re outrageous,” Reid told Jones between laughs. And Anderson shook his head, “Diabolical.” But you know what? It works for me.

In a recent interview with The Vampire Lestat‘s Assad Zaman, who plays Armand, Zaman shared more about Armand turning Daniel into a Vampire, “Vampirism to Armand, I think, acts like a form of self-flagellation, similar to the way prayer and punishment go hand in hand. So yes, there’s agency in turning Daniel, but also, he’s punishing a man whom he also worships in a fucked up way.” And I feel we simply must see this blend of worship and punishment manifest. Plus, as mentioned, it’s a pivotal scene for Armand and Daniel; one worth finally bringing to our screens.

AMC

So, Rolin Jones, if you’re reading this. Please know that telling me in a junket that, if we get a season four of Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat, we’ll see the scene of Daniel’s vampiric turning in full does count as a blood pact which cannot be dissolved.

Fans, if you’re reading this and you want to see Armand turning Daniel into a vampire in full color and sound, I guess we’d better keep converting the masses to the wonder of this series and tuning in to watch The Vampire Lestat as it airs on AMC and AMC+ (on Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT and midnight, respectively).

Rotem Rusak is Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She is waiting for Armand and Daniel to finally get together so one of her canon ships can finally sail on The Vampire Lestat.

The post We WILL See Daniel’s Vampire Turning, Promises Rolin Jones… BUT Not Until Season 4 of IWTV/THE VAMPIRE LESTAT (Exclusive) appeared first on Nerdist.

The bill is expected to blanket ban companies and startups from selling people's precise location data across the state.

Uber customers in the UK can now join an interest list to increase their chances of being matched with a Wayve robotaxi.

⚡ Quick Take

• The very first scene of The Vampire Lestat is quite cryptic, but based on Anne Rice’s later novels, we have some idea what is going on.

In the opening scene of episode one of The Vampire Lestat, we see a rather exclusive auction, one held for only the richest and most elite individuals on Earth. We presume this auction is being held by the Talamasca, the secret order of supernatural scholars. It’s held at an airport, and we see that even elements from the Vatican are bidding on this auction. They are auctioning off several recordings of The Vampire Lestat, not just his music, but also his spoken word confessions, labeled as “The Failures.” The auction is taking place in 2026, after a series of events the year prior have shattered the world, and (presumably) left Lestat dead. Or is he? Here’s what we gleaned for the future of this series based on just this opening scene.

Could Raglan James Really Be Lestat in The Vampire Lestat’s First Scene? Body Swapping Exists in The Vampire ChroniclesAMC Networks

The character of Talamasca operative Raglan James first appeared in season one of Interview with the Vampire. But in Anne Rice’s novels, he doesn’t show up until book four, The Tale of the Body Thief. And Mr. James is the Body Thief in question. James is a psychic of considerable power who perfected a technique of “body swapping.” He exchanges bodies with Lestat in this novel, and then literally steals it, while Lestat rots away in a dying mortal form. The way Raglan James at the auction is giving meaningful glances to Louis in that scene makes us wonder if that’s now Lestat, now somehow in James’ body. And the (supposedly) dearly departed Brat Prince? Possibly not so dearly departed after all.

Armand Has Lost an Eye; Here’s Where Else We See Eyes Lost in Anne Rice’s Books

We see in the auction scene that Armand (Assad Zaman) is missing an eye, and wearing an eye patch. In Anne Rice’s canon, Lestat famously lost his eye once too. In the fifth Vampire Chronicles novel, Memnoch the Devil, the fallen angel takes Lestat on a harrowing journey through the realms of Heaven and Hell. When Lestat refuses Memnoch’s offer to be his right hand in Hell, he escapes back to our earthly reality.

AMC Networks

As Lestat attempts to escape, Memnoch plucks out Lestat’s left eye to prevent him from taking the Biblical Veil of Veronica, which he acquired during a time-traveling visit to Christ’s crucifixion. Memnoch eventually returned his eye to him. We’re not saying Armand had the same experience, but it’s not impossible.

Louis Is Missing His Leg. What Could That Point To?

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Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) is also there in the same auction, but with a missing leg. There’s no instance in the books where Louis loses a limb like this, but he may lose it when the vampires of the world descend on Lestat’s final performance, hoping to eliminate the rule-breaking Brat Prince for good. Louis stands by his man during this battle, and he may lose a leg at this point. Having said that, vampires can easily replace their limbs with those from other vampires. So we’re not sure why Louis doesn’t do just that. Then again, with Louis, he probably thinks he deserves to suffer.

“The Consequential Global Catastrophes”: What You Should KnowAMC Networks

The vampire community labels Lestat a heretic for revealing the true nature of their species to the world. They attack his final concert, packed with thousands of mortals. But before they can kill the Brat Prince, Queen Akasha awakens and sets them all on fire with her mind, not just at the concert, but all across the globe. These fires spread, destroying property and taking mortal lives everywhere around the world.

“The Attempted Extinction of the Y Chromosomes”: What Does That Mean?

This refers to Akasha’s “Grand Plan” in Queen of the Damned. While the Mother of all Vampires sat still like a statue for millennia, she was not truly catatonic. Her consciousness traveled from mortal body to body for thousands of years, witnessing humanity’s bloody history through the eyes of others. Akasha concluded that the culprit behind all wars and violence was the male sex. From the Crusades to the Holocaust, a man can claim blame. So when she rises again, she uses her Mind Gift to kill hundreds (if not thousands) of men. She plans to wipe out 95% of the males of the species, keeping just enough to keep humanity going. Akasha believes that if women rule the world, with herself as Queen of Heaven, world peace can be achieved. She doesn’t get far with this plot, but she kills hundreds around the world before she’s finally stopped.

The Vampire Lestat (or season three of Interview with the Vampire) is currently running on AMC and AMC+.

The post What Is Happening in the First Scene of THE VAMPIRE LESTAT appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• On AMC’s The Vampire Lestat, the Brat Prince’s backstory is told out of sequence, but we present to you Lestat’s history chronologically to help you make sense of this season of the show.

The Vampire Lestat has premiered its first episode on AMC, adapting Anne Rice’s second novel in her Vampire Chronicles series. This 1985 book truly made Lestat a star, elevating his undead status next to the likes of Dracula. Sam Reid reprises his role from Interview with the Vampire, with his backstory from the novel told largely in a non-linear fashion. So to help guide you through these tangled narrative vines, we present the undead rock star Lestat’s canonical history, as told by Anne Rice in The Vampire Lestat. We start with his birth in the 18th century and follow him until he meets Louis de Pointe du Lac in New Orleans.

Alfred A. Knopf/Ballantine BooksThe Mortal Life of Lestat de Lioncourt in 18th Century France

The mortal Lestat de Lioncourt was born on November 7, 1760. That’s the same birthday as Anne Rice’s husband Stan, who the character of Lestat is physically based on. (Louis shares Anne’s birthday of October 4.)  He was born the son of an aristocratic lord in the French countryside, in a place called the Auvergne. His family long ago had spent all their wealth. Lestat’s father was a cruel tyrant who married a much younger heiress from Italy named Gabrielle. She gave birth to several sons for him, many of whom died in childbirth. The youngest, and the only one who took after her (and not his father), was Lestat.

AMC Networks

Lestat aspired to be an artist and actor, completely different from his boorish brothers. Thus, he maintained a close relationship with his mother. When he grew to adulthood, he became the family hunter, protecting their ancestral lands. One day, when he was 21 years old (29 in the TV series), he saved the nearby village from a pack of eight wolves, who very nearly killed him. It was after this incident that Lestat discovered his mother was dying of consumption. As her last wish, she bequeathed all her jewels to Lestat, so he could run away to Paris and fulfill his dream of being an actor on stage.

AMC Networks Lestat’s Vampire Life Begins in Paris

Lestat and his childhood friend Nicolas de Lenfent, a cynical violinist who was now his lover, fled to the big city together. They both got work in a shabby theater in the heart of the city, where Lestat quickly became a rising star. Nicolas, meanwhile, sank further into depression as Lestat’s on-stage fame grew. One night, Lestat noticed a face in the audience stalking him, whispering the words “Wolfkiller” into his mind. One night, this being, who turned out to be a vampire, captured Lestat from his home and dragged him to his tower outside Paris. There, he forced him to become an undead being against his will. The Vampire Lestat was born.

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Lestat’s vampire maker, Magnus, was about 300 years old, and an outcast from vampiric society. He had grown tired of eternal life, and chose Lestat as his heir. In part because of his beautiful looks, but also for his bravery in killing the wolves. Once Lestat became a vampire, Magnus flung himself into the fire, ending his existence. Thus, leaving Lestat without a teacher. Lestat took to his vampire existence like a duck to water, killing the many thieves and scoundrels of Paris. He bought the theater he worked at, giving his fellow actors continued employment. But he kept his new vampiric nature a secret from his lover, Nicolas, and kept his distance.

AMC NetworksLestat Turns His Dying Mother into a Vampire

Eventually, Lestat’s mother, Gabrielle, came to Paris to see her son one last time and to spend her final nights there. On her deathbed, Lestat revealed his true nature to her, and turned her into a vampire. Gabrielle became his first fledgling and companion in immortality. The two made Paris their hunting ground, although they’d often hear the telepathic voices of other vampires in the city calling them outcasts and blasphemers. Eventually, these Parisian vampires attacked them directly.

AMC Networks Meeting Armand and the Children of Darkness

These vampires were cultists, who lived in the nearby cemetery of Les Innocents. They believed what their mentor, the ancient vampire Armand, had taught them. They considered themselves the Children of Satan, and they had to live among the dead, stay away from mortals (except to feed), and run from crucifixes, as Satan commanded. But Lestat didn’t obey any of those rules. And because of his and Gabrielle’s presence, they knew the “rules” Armand had been feeding them for centuries were all lies and superstitions. Lies Armand told them to keep the coven under his thumb.

With his hold of the coven shattered by Lestat, and its members fleeing, Armand tried to become the new companion of Lestat. He told Lestat how an ancient Roman vampire named Marius had transformed him when he was a slave boy in Renaissance Venice. The Satanic vampires of Italy set Marius on fire for living against their dogmatic rules, leaving him for dead, and they kidnapped the young Armand. They brainwashed him into believing in their religion, and Armand became a leader among the Children of Darkness. He never truly believed in their ways, but used their dogma to control his Satanic coven in Paris.

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Ultimately, Lestat rejected Armand, and transformed his lover, Nicolas, into a vampire. He did this despite Armand and Gabrielle warning him against it. Nicolas almost instantly went mad from the vampiric blood, and told Lestat that he resented and hated him for ever keeping it from him. Lestat and Gabrielle decided to leave Paris, but they left the theater he had bought to Armand and what remained of his coven. They transformed it into the Thétre des Vampires, where they acted out vampiric plays for Parisian mortal audiences who believed it all to be fake.

AMC Networks

Nicolas remained at the Thétre des Vampires, in Armand’s care, while Lestat and Gabrielle searched for Marius, Armand’s maker. Even though Armand told them he was killed by the Children of Darkness centuries earlier, they didn’t believe a vampire that ancient could be destroyed so easily. They searched together for years, and found no sign of Marius de Romanus anywhere on Earth. After Nicolas finally threw himself into the flames, and Gabrielle decided to leave her son to be a lone wolf, a despondent Lestat buried himself in the Earth, where he remained for years.

Warner Bros. Lestat Meets the Vampire Marius, Keeper of Akasha, Queen of the Damned

Eventually, Marius chose to reveal himself to Lestat, and pulled him out of the ground. He fed him his powerful blood and nurtured him back to health. He revealed himself as the keeper of “Those Who Must Be Kept,” also known as Queen Akasha and King Enkil of Egypt. Nearly 2,000 years prior, the scholar Marius was transformed into a vampire in ancient Rome. But only to become the new caretaker of Those Who Must Be Kept. This 6,000-year-old royal pair were the ancient progenitors of the vampire species, and all vampire bloodlines came from them. They no longer drank blood, or spoke, or moved, frozen like statues.

Lestat Arrives in New Orleans, Creates Louis and ClaudiaAMC Networks

Since their destruction meant the entire species would be destroyed, they needed to be kept secret and safe. Marius had been their keeper for millennia and entrusted Lestat with this knowledge. But he made him swear to never tell a living soul. When Lestat played Nicolas’ violin for Akasha, she awoke momentarily and let Lestat drink her powerful and ancient blood. This made the young Lestat one of the most powerful vampires on Earth, despite being so young. Marius then told Lestat to flee to the New World, someplace where barely any vampires existed. Someplace that even Akasha could not find him. And that’s when Lestat wound up in New Orleans, and met his fledgling Louis, and the events of Interview with the Vampire began.

If you’ve seen seasons one and two of Interview with the Vampire, or the 1994 film adaptation, you probably know what became of Lestat next. Of course, many things happen to Lestat after the events of book two, but we’ll have to wait and see if AMC plans to adapt those books as well.

The Vampire Lestat airs at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+. You can also read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice today as you wait for the next episode of the series to air.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a life-long Anne Rice fan. Yes, he is a member of the OG fan club.

This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!

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⚡ Quick Take

• In AMC’s The Vampire Lestat, vampires have to pee. But do the undead have to go to the bathroom in the actual Anne Rice lore?

One thing that befuddled Interview with the Vampire fans from the trailer to The Vampire Lestat was the moment where we see Lestat peeing blood in a public urinal. Was this from a dream sequence? Since when do vampires need to urinate? Well, after the first episode of The Vampire Lestat, we’ve learned that yes, in the world of AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe, the undead do have to take a leak sometimes.

Vampires Do Indeed Have to Pee in AMC’s The Vampire Lestat

Lestat does so in this episode, and he’s even accosted by two angry vampires peeing next to him. Lestat explains, via voice-over narration, that yes, vampires do indeed have to pee, just not as frequently as humans. Also, it’s hard to get blood out of eco-friendly urinals. Who knew?

AMC NetworksDo Vampires Urinate in Anne Rice’s Books?

So, is this an invention of the series, or do vampires pee in Anne Rice lore? The short answer is, in Rice’s books, they do not pee. But the TV series vampires deviate wildly from Rice’s take on vampire physiology already. For starters, Rice’s vampires have almost translucent skin, which exposes their veins, except for in the hours after they feed. They don’t eat, drink any fluids other than blood, or have to go to the bathroom for number one or number two. Rice vampires do cry, but only blood tears. They also sweat blood, but only under extreme duress. Most markedly different from Rice’s novels is that her vampires don’t have human sex. And on the show, they absolutely do. Although they admit that it’s way behind in terms of pleasure in comparison to blood consumption.

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Essentially, in Rice’s novels, vampires describe the act of taking blood as being a bit orgasmic, like sex (but not exactly), a bit like getting high off drugs, with accompanying hallucinations, and of course, it’s their food. But it’s all of those things, and yet also none of those things. Both Louis and Lestat have said it’s a state that they simply can’t explain to humans.

Do Anne Rice Vamps Have to Go to the Bathroom in the Movie Versions?

In the 1994 movie adaptation, Louis says of the transformation, “Might as well ask Heaven what it sees. No human can truly know.” The movie is more in keeping with Rice’s original take. We know they dont eat and drink. And we never see them needing a bathroom break. But the AMC series brings its vampires a bit more down to Earth. Although they do retain a lot of Rice’s supernatural powers, like telepathy, flight (among some of them), and the ability to start fires.

In the Anne Rice novel The Tale of the Body Thief, the Vampire Lestat becomes stuck in a human body for a prolonged time. He wanted to feel what it felt like to be human again after 200 years and change. Turns out, he romanticized being human and found that he actually hated it. He loathed getting sick, having no real strength, and how quickly sex acts were over. Oh, and the disgusting nature of having to poop and pee all the time. He really disliked that. He was glad to get back to his immortal body as soon as possible. But in the AMC series, if he ever goes through similar events in future seasons, he’ll at least have been used to peeing.

The Vampire Lestat airs at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.

Eric Diaz is a staff writer at Nerdist and a life-long Anne Rice fan. Yes, he is a member of the OG fan club.

The post Vamps Pee in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, But Is It Anne Rice Canon? appeared first on Nerdist.

We’ve all been waiting with bated breath for The Vampire Lestat to arrive and continue the incredible world of AMC’s Immortal Universe. We knew this season would belong to Sam Reid, who captivates as Lestat in all his glory. Playing Lestat alone requires a chameleon of an actor, of course. The vampire has so many moods, modes, layers, and emotions, and they all move through him at the drop of the hat, often several at once. But if that weren’t enough, Sam Reid actually plays TWO roles in The Vampire Lestat. Yes, in addition to Lestat, Sam Reid also plays a mortal called Jarda in the series. But just who is The Vampire Lestat‘s Jarda? Why do we need him? And why do we love him? Let’s break down this Czechian karoke fanatic.

⚡ Quick Take

• Sam Reid actually plays two characters in The Vampire Lestat: Lestat and Jarda. But who is Jarda in The Vampire Lestat? We explain.

Who Is Sam Reid’s Second The Vampire Lestat Character, Jarda?

In short, Jarda is Lestat’s body double in The Vampire Lestat, so it only makes sense that Sam Reid plays him as well. But as far as everything else about Jarda goes, he could not be more different than Lestat. Jarda, in a word, is kind of a loser. Most of the time, he’s drunk and singing off-key to himself as he gets bossed around by Lestat’s right-hand woman, the tough-as-nails lawyer Christine Claire.

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Lestat describes Jarda as a “brick-laying, karaoke fanatic from Oztrova.” And reveals that Christine found him working construction in the Czech Republic. He also makes sure we know that Jarda is three inches shorter than he is, and needs blue-eyed contacts (which he’s always forgetting to put in) and a wig to truly become Lestat. Or, in short, he’s “Neanderthal Lestat.”

Why Does Lestat Need Jarda in The Vampire Lestat?

It turns out that becoming a nice celebrity with a cult following is a bit of an issue when you’re a vampire. Suddenly, eyes are on you everywhere you go. And that makes hunting and killing people, or at least drinking their blood, a bit hard. That’s where Jarda comes in. If Lestat makes a mess, Christine sends Jarda to Applebee’s to order a tuna melt and take some selfies with fans, while Lestat hunts in the other direction. It’s a pretty good system for keeping suspicious eyes off our favorite diva vampire.

But What Is the True Purpose of Jarda in The Vampire Lestat?AMC

But, most importantly, The Vampire Lestat‘s Jarda is there to be very, very mortal. His chief job, beyond protecting Lestat from minor mishaps, is to be so painfully human that other mortals cease to question whether Lestat is a real vampire. Jarda is there to obscure Lestat’s true vampire nature and have the world come to believe that he is only a farce… A tribute to a figment of imagination born from Daniel Molloy’s mind. For the most part, Lestat notes that this works pretty well, as humans aren’t really that prone to doing much more than “huh-ing” at anything interesting before returning to their phones and algorithms. But, of course, some persist who won’t be swayed. Still, when Jarda is openly posing as Lestat in the open, it does make it kind of hard to believe vampires are real.

We Love Sam Reid as Jarda

In a season where Sam Reid is already doing so much, we didn’t really expect him to do even more. But we are obsessed with Sam Reid’s second role as Jarda in The Vampire Lestat. It really goes to show you HOW talented an actor Reid really is. Lestat, although quite changeable, NEVER approaches anything as bumbling and comedic as Jarda. And seeing Reid flex this muscle of his acting chops is absolutely a delight. Although Reid is literally playing Jarda AND Lestat, the two characters barely resemble one another. They literally feel like they are played by different people. And is that not the wonder of acting?

The Vampire Lestat is now releasing weekly on Sundays at 9p ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.

Rotem Rusak is Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist and a huge fan of The Vampire Lestat. She can’t wait for everyone to watch this season.

The post Sam Reid Plays TWO Roles in The Vampire Lestat appeared first on Nerdist.

The Vampire Lestat has returned to us, and with it a fresh batch of tangled vampiric relationships. Throughout the first episode of the series, we see Lestat texting a mysterious person simply labeled as “Toi” on his phone. These texts take on an increasingly intense urgency, which corresponds to Lestat’s levels of loneliness and distress. Of course, for much of the episode, fans might imagine the person Lestat is texting is his longtime companion and lover, Louis. I was lucky enough to watch the first episode of The Vampire Lestat with 2,000 or so other fans at The Vampire Lestat Concert, and judging by the “awwwwws” that came after some of the texts were shown on screen, Louis was a much-hoped-for “Toi” contender. But in the end, who was the person Lestat was texting throughout the first episode of The Vampire Lestat? Here’s the identity of Lestat’s Toi and the ending of The Vampire Lestat episode one, explained.

⚡ Quick Take

• In the ending of The Vampire Lestat episode one, the mysterious person that Lestat is texting is revealed to be his mother/fledgling Gabriella.
• Gabriella and Lestat exchange a series of texts under the names “Moi” and “Toi,” which we have transcribed below.
• Ultimately, these texts reveal that Gabriella doesn’t necessarily have Lestat’s best interests at heart and that she allows him to break down and spiral for some time before finally coming to him.

The Ending of The Vampire Lestat 1 Reveals the Identity of “Toi”

Moi and Toi, me and you, in French. Moi, of course, is Lestat, and Toi, the end of The Vampire Lestat episode reveals, is the Vampire Gabriella. Alas, not Louis.

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Throughout episode one of The Vampire Lestat, Lestat reaches out to Toi/Gabriella by text, asking for her company. At first, when he is merely bored and annoyed (though obviously lonely) on his tour, his texts are idle and more removed. But throughout the first episode of the series, Lestat’s emotional state deteriorates, culminating in something of a breakdown on stage, followed by a rough aftermath. The sound of his own music moves through him, unleashing all the “muses” of his past to swirl through his thoughts, taunting and haunting him. On top of that, Lestat manages to bite his fan Baby Jenks, who is HIGH on “candy.” And if a vampire drinks the blood of a drugged mortal, they’ll overdose as well. Lestat sees visions of Baby Jenks’ soul floating on the ceiling, has a lot of spirited sex, and ends up getting in a spat with the local Detroit coven, the Tooth Team, excuse us, the Fang Gang. After that, he accidentally outs himself as a vampire to his band and flies out the window in a tizzy to throw up blood in a run-down motel.

And then, at Lestat’s lowest, most desperate point, THAT’s when the vampire Gabriella, or Toi, as we know her from Lestat’s texts, decides to finally make her appearance. The Vampire Lestat episode one ends with Gabriella arriving in the hotel room and a very performative Lestat telling her, “I got myself into something I can’t get out of. Music’s opened up the dutch oven, and I’m not sure if I can close it again. I’m not really at my best, but it’s very nice to see you again. I like what you’ve done with your hair, my Gabriella.” Gabriella heals a cut on Lestat’s face and then draws him into an eager makeout. The voiceover from Lestat supplies for us that Gabriella is his “Fledgling, lover, mother.” Welcome to the Vampire Chronicles, new Fledglings.

What Do Lestat’s Texts to Gabriella Say?AMC

Before we get into the full identity of the Vampire Gabriella in The Vampire Lestat and what episode one’s ending means for the show, we thought you might want to read all the texts that she and Lestat pass between one another as Moi and Toi without squinting at your screens. Buckle down, it’s a painful read.

Text 1:

• Toi: Saw a video of your show last night
• Moi: And?
• Toi: Helped my insomnia.
• Moi: Who is this again?
• Toi: At least I’m thinking about you.
• Moi: Ready to drain my fucking lead guitarist.
• Toi: And where are you tonight?
• Moi: Right of Rome, Wisconsin
• Moi: Left of London, Ontario
• Toi: Stuck in the mud again.

Text 2:

• Moi: The Rapture has descended upon Detroit!
• Moi: I’m staying in a hotel called Dracula’s Daughter.
• Moi: The minibar has vodka and feminine products called Vampons.
• Moi: I miss you. Come to me.
• Moi: Typed and erased: It’s been too long… I need you. I’m struggling.
• MoI: It’s been too long.

Text 3:

• Toi: I’ve found myself in Chicago.
• Moi: Still in Detroit. Meert innkallamazzo? 🙂

Text 4:

• Toi: Expectations.
• Moi: None. Nothing. Just sit with me.
• Moi: Please!
• Moi: Please I need you
• Moi: Please
• Moi: Please find me!
• Moi: Starfight Inn, room 12,3664 12 Sandwich St. Windsor. Starlight Inn. I’m not well.
• Moi: I.
• Moi: Love.
• Moi: You.
• Moi: Forget it. I’m fine. Hell with you.

Text 5:

• Toi: I’m here.
• Moi: Where?”

Who Is The Vampire Gabriella?

As Lestat informs us, Gabriella is “Fledgling, lover, and mother” to Lestat. Yes, the vampire Gabriella is literally Lestat’s mother. Technically, though, he’s her Vampiric Maker and she his first fledgling, so their relationship is quite tangled in many different ways. In the Vampire Chronicle books, lover, as we understand it through a mortal lens, wasn’t specifically part of the relationship between Lestat and Gabriella (known as Gabrielle in Anne Rice’s writings). But that’s because Anne Rice’s vampires didn’t have actual sex with one another. But in The Vampire Lestat, they certainly do, and they take great pleasure in it. And that puts lover firmly on the table for Lestat and Gabriella as the end of episode one of The Vampire Lestat implies.

RELATED ARTICLE

IWTV: Lestat’s Complex (Icky?) Bond with Mother Gabrielle, Explained

Gabriella’s story in this adaptation will be told throughout this season of The Vampire Lestat. But if you’d like to know more about Gabriella from Anne Rice’s books, you can check out our full explainer here.

What Does The Ending of The Vampire Lestat Reveal to Us About Gabriella?

There’s still much we can glean about Gabriella in The Vampire Lestat from the ending of episode one and the texts she and Lestat exchange throughout it. Namely, that Lestat’s well-being is not her first priority. Despite Lestat’s many and increasingly alarming texts, Gabriella does not come to him when he asks until he is literally at his lowest point. And when she does arrive, it is not with compassion and fear, but with a sort of delight. That doesn’t seem very good from the perspective of a mother or a lover.

And even though he so ardently seems to long for her and calls what’s between them “love,” the uncanny way Lestat changes without warning when Gabriella arrives in episode one is truly unsettling. His face, voice, and body language alter with an alarming speed. Disturbingly, from the depths of despair, Lestat takes on an immediate, coy, simpering flirtation which has all the red flags waving. Our hats are totally off to Sam Reid for this abrupt heel turn, which is SO visceral.

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In sum, although Lestat wants Gabriella by his side so much, it feels like she’s not very good for him, and she doesn’t really care if that’s true. And with Lestat and Louis broken up again, and Lestat feeling the weight of his past scars more intensely than ever, that can’t be very good news.

Of additional interest, in the voice-over at the end of The Vampire Lestat episode one, before Lestat reveals that Gabriella is his mother and lover, he says, “It’s not much of a reveal, I guess. I know it’s common gossip now, the first thing one thinks about when my name comes up.” That makes it sound like somehow, the rock star Lestat’s mother/lover relationship with Gabriella becomes public knowledge in the world of The Vampire Lestat. We suppose it is the kind of thing the internet might have a field day with.

Sam Reid on His Relationship with Gabriella and Louis

In an interview about The Vampire Lestat, Sam Reid told us the following about Lestat’s relationship with Gabriella and with Louis. His words are critical to keep in mind as we rewatch episode one’s ending and prepare for the rest of this season of The Vampire Lestat. Reid shares:

How does Lestat’s relationship with Louis and Gabriella define him and bring out different parts of him… I mean, yeah, it’s very different, but I think you get the sense that the relationship with Louis is actually … They’re on a level ground. They accept each other for who they are. They go through hell and fight each other, but they come back to each other. They keep recircling each other, and a lot of the performative nature, particularly of Lestat is kind of stripped away with Louis because he can’t really hold it up. Whereas Gabriella, it’s different. She’s been there in very formative years, and so she has helped build him and kind of build the foundations and the structure that is Lestat. And Lestat has spent his entire life performing and building these characters and these archetypes that are built around the situations that he finds himself in.

And sometimes the suit that Gabriela puts him in, he sort of outgrows and doesn’t really fit anymore and he keeps returning to it because that is unfortunately a very safe space for him because he’s looking for that maternal acceptance and love. So actually the actor, the rockstar, the Brat Prince, the leader, all of these things, that is the kind of vicarious life that Gabriella’s built for him so she can kind of use that as a conduit to experience it himself. Whereas Louis is different.

They call each other out on their bullshit more often than not and also really hurt each other and the hurt is reciprocated. I think Lestat finds it very hard to hurt Gabriella. He wants to hurt her and also he wants to hate her and she won’t let him. She won’t let him go whereas Louis will let him go and Lestat will let Louis go and they’ll have years where they’re not together and they’ll be like, “Whoa, I lost that one.” And then they come back, he’s like, “No, okay, you grew a little bit. I grew a little bit. Who are we now? We’re still the same people. ” Whereas Gabriella won’t ever let Lestat out of her orbit. And just when he thinks, “Okay, I’ve got some time,” She comes right back in. She knows. She’s very clever, but that’s how he learns the great art of manipulation.

We’ll See More of the Vampire Gabriella in The Vampire Lestat

Whatever all of this brings for Lestat in the coming episodes, for now, it feels like the Vampire Gabriella is here for a spell. Of course, we never know when she might ghost again.

The Vampire Lestat airs at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.

Rotem Rusak is Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist and a huge fan of The Vampire Lestat. She can’t wait for everyone to watch this season.

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The post Who Is Lestat Texting in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? Episode 1 Ending Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

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