Vampire Academy is getting its second adaptation in the last ten years -- and this one's on the small screen. The new Peacock series has dropped its first trailer teasing what the TV show will cover and what its style will look like. The show's attempt to set itself apart from the 2014 movie that underwhelmed both fans and critics is immediately apparent. Vampire Academy on Peacock promises a new approach to the source material.
With the Vampire Academy film getting such a poor reception, it's no wonder the new show is trying so hard to be its own thing. While the trailer doesn't reveal much of the plot, it seems the show will still follow Rose and Lisa's relationship and subsequent run from St. Vladimir's Academy. However, the upcoming show's true differences will lie heavily in its style.
The 2014 film chose to change up the vampire style by modernizing its look but kept the story intact. Instead of delving into the darker aspects of the academy and the Victorian feel of the Moroi royalty, it had a stylized high school drama feel. While the trailer for the upcoming show does depict the Guardians in modern leather jackets, it does not have the Mean Girls influence of the film. In fact, it appears to be going back to genre basics.
The show seems to be heavily leaning into the traditional vampire aesthetic in order to set itself apart from the movie. The Vampire Academy trailer showed the Dragomir family in period costumes akin to classic royalty. The wardrobe, along with the titular academy being depicted as a castle, harkens back to the vampire tropes other series have made fun of. This medieval style brings a more serious tone to the story, and will change the way this version of Vampire Academy plays out.
The Vampire Academy film and TV series may have the same source material, but they will be nothing alike. The Peacock show promises to take itself much more seriously and deal with the darker themes Mead presented in the book series. By treating itself like a piece of historical fiction instead of the more contemporary take from the movie and Netflix's short-lived First Kill, it will set itself apart and be more recognizable to fans of the genre.
Although the movie version of Vampire Academy did not do well at the box office, it still has its purpose. It paved the way for a more faithful adaptation to hit the small screen. The Peacock series has more time to explore more of the books' stories and all of its messy themes, and it has its own style that skews closer to what viewers will expect. While the trailer is all that's been released so far, this new Vampire Academy is poised to finally please fans.
Vampire Academy premieres its first four episodes Sept. 15, 2022 on Peacock, with new episodes premiering weekly after that.