For good or bad, Anne Rice deserves much of the credit for the way vampires have been depicted in popular culture for the past four decades, up to and including The Vampire Diaries and Twilight. Her 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire not only cemented the image of the bloodsuckers as tragic, romantic figures, it birthed no fewer than 10 sequels -- known collectively as The Vampire Chronicles -- and spawned countless imitators.

The series also inspired two film adaptations, the more successful being 1994's Interview with a Vampire, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. And now, 20 years later, Universal Pictures is aiming to bring Rice's creations to the screen again.

Variety reports the studio has acquired the rights to not only The Vampire Chronicles, including the upcoming novel Prince Lestat, but also the adapted screenplay for Tale of the Body Thief, written by Rice's son Christopher for Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are on board to produce, which is interesting considering they had an amicable split in April.