The recent announcement that author Anne Rice had regained the rights to her “Vampire Chronicles” series, which were in the hands of Universal Pictures, was met with resounding joy and excitement by her followers and fans, as well as those who were only familiar with her work through the two adapted films. The studio was unable to get more movies made after 2002’s Queen of the Damned, which led to the rights reverting back to the author. As a result, the various books that Rice has released over the past four decades are now available for adaptation with her in complete control. And with that newfound power, Rice has turned her sights on adapting her books for TV audiences, although she has expressed interest in the Netflix model of releasing a series all at once.

Speaking with EW, Rice talks about her reaction to the news of her acquiring the rights back, which found her surprised by the online reaction:

I’m kind of amazed. I think we got something like 2,800,000 hits on the post, which surprises me…I’m very warmed by their enthusiasm, always, but I didn’t expect the blogs to pick it up, and I’m thrilled that they did, and thrilled that we’ve gotten such a wonderful response from the Hollywood community. It’s reassuring that we have a lot of interest, and [my son] Christopher and I are so eager to get to work on this, to get a pilot script written.

She then went on to discuss the plans that are being worked out, which include where the series will begin, stating, “Nothing is firm yet, except that we do want to start with the second book in the series, “The Vampire Lestat”. We want to start with him and his birth as a vampire, and go on from there. And at this point, tentatively, I see two seasons, maybe, to do the entire book.”

Still, Rice knows that her work is more than just one book and that she’s created a mythology and universe that is richly detailed and expansive. Two seasons alone won’t cut it, especially if we really want to get into the meat of the series. “…we want to do an open-ended series that can just take it all the way. And you know, there are something like 14 books now, and ideally, we would love to bring [the series] up to the present time, to “Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis” or whatever book is next after that,” she explains.

Rice also knows that her fans are worried that there will be inevitable changes that might turn the show away from the series that they’ve come to know and love. However, the author urges people not to be afraid as she will be involved every step of the way.

Yes, I want to do it faithfully. That’s what the readers tell me they want. I want to take that approach all the way, and if I make innovations and changes, which inevitably I will, I want them to be completely in tune with the vision and the ambience of the Vampire Chronicles. I want to give them the situations they expect to see, and the characters that they expect to see.

When it comes to casting, which she says she will also be involved with, she doesn’t have a specific person in mind for Lestat, aside from, “…six feet tall, [with] blonde hair and blue eyes,” but she does have a hope for Louis: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning‘s Matt Bomer. Furthermore, for Marius she’s set her eyes on Matthew MacFadyen of the UK series “Ripper Street”.

When asked if she could imagine any of the original cast coming back for cameo appearances, Rice seemed to enjoy the thought. “I don’t know! If they were interested, that would be a fun idea. But I have no idea if they would care or want to be involved in anything like that.”

The 1994 adaptation of Interview with a Vampire starred Tom Cruise as Lestat and Brad Pitt as Louis. It was well received by critics and audiences alike, drawing in over $220 million worldwide on a $60 million budget.