The unbroken chain of vampire movies continue its reign with Universal Pictures along with Imagine Entertainment and executive producer Brian Grazer acquiring the movie rights to "The Vampire Chronicles", consisting of 13 novels, by bestselling writer Anne Rice.

Last Thursday, a potential vampire franchise was slotted to surface with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci of the latest "Transformers" and "Star Trek" films as well as "Cowboys and Aliens" and "Now You See Me" being set to produce.

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Christopher, Rice's son and also a bestselling novelist, has been asked to take part in the series as the deal will include the screenplay that he adapted from one of his mother's books, "Tale of the Body Thief".

Comprised of numerous vampire books, Rice's "The Vampire Chronicles" is a series of novels that have been adapted either for film or television over the past years, targeting an audience whose longing for vampire stories is apparently unquenchable.

The series draws attention to the fictional character of a French aristocrat named Lestat de Lioncourt who lived in poverty and was turned into a vampire in the late 1700s.

"Interview With The Vampire", Rice's first novel in the series, was adapted into a gothic film in 1994 by Warner Bros. With Neil Jordan as director and Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst as its stars, the movie grossed $224 million in the world box office.

On the other hand, another film adaptation from the Chronicles was set in 2002 which garnered weak ratings and reviews. The film version of the "Queen of the Damned", also by Warner Bros., featured Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah but failed to perform well at the box office, grossing $45 million.

Universal Pictures is strongly interested in such uncanny genre and recently ventured on a project that will re-define classic film characters, including Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Mummy.

The Mummy has been slotted for a premiere on April 22, 2016.

As the debut novel for the "The Vampire Chronicles" series, "Interview with the Vampire" was published in 1976 while "Prince Lestat" had only been distributed this year. Other books in the series include 1995's "Mennoch the Devil" and "Merrick" in 2000, among others. 

TagsAnne Rice, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Imagine Entertainment, Lestat de Lioncourt, The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned