As announced last week, Universal have snapped up the rights to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, with a view to mining a franchise from the material that so inspired Neil Jordan twenty years ago. Now, The Wrap believes, the studio has its director: Stuck In Love and The Fault In Our Stars' Josh Boone is reportedly in the frame to man the cameras. (A spokesperson for Imagine Entertainment has denied the reports, but The Wrap remain confident they know better.)
Rice’s Chronicles run to 13 books at the moment, with a new one, Prince Lestat, due for publication in October this year. Universal's deal also includes the screenplay based on The Tale Of The Body Thief, which Rice’s son Christopher sold to Imagine (a partner on the new effort) two years ago.
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are attached to produce, and Boone, according to source, will write his own screenplay. Rather than beginning with a new version of Jordan's Interview With The Vampire (based on Rice's first novel), the intel suggests that the new film will draw on second and third instalments The Vampire Lestat and Queen Of The Damned: already plundered for Michael Rymer's hapless Queen Of The Damned movie in 2002.
Before that, however, Boone has the small matter of Stephen King's The Stand to contend with, so if The Wrap are correct and Boone really is Lestat's new manager, it'll be a while before he can give him his full attention. Casting on The Stand is due to start shortly, for a likely 2016 release.