Let the Right One In TV Series Will Include Multiple Vampires

Showtime's pilot for Let the Right One In, based on the John Ajvide Lindqvist and the hit feature film of the same name, has rounded out its cast and among the new additions is a shocking change to the story. Variety brings word of four new cast members for the series including: Kevin Carroll as Zeke Dawes, described as a a successful restaurant owner who is friends with Mark (Demián Bichir) and knows about Eleanor's (Madison Taylor Baez) condition; Ian Foreman as Isaiah, "quiet and sensitive...who befriends Eleanor but has no idea the threat she poses;" and Jacob Buster as Peter, "a sweet and funny boy who suffers from the same condition as Eleanor. When his father tests a potential cure on him, it backfires and releases a terrifying monster."

As fans of the book and the film versions will recall, the original story focused on a young girl that is revealed to be a vampire and who befriends a young human boy. The Showtime series adding another character that has the "same condition" as its lead character means the show will be injecting even more vampires into its narrative than any of the previous versions. The official description for the show also alludes to the origin of how Eleanor became a child of the night, which reads in full:

"In Let the Right One In, after she was bitten by a mysterious creature, Eleanor and her father, Mark (Demian Bichir), were forced to live in the shadows and commit shameful acts to keep her alive. When she returns to New York City, Eleanor meets a friend who reignites her desire to regain her humanity, even as her condition brings out an animalistic power."

This description reveals yet another major deviation from the novel and other adaptations of the story which previously focused on a young boy that discovered his new neighbor was a vampire stuck at a young age, but whose handler wasn't their father and instead another person (with more sinister intentions).

Away creator and Penny Dreadful writer Andrew Hinderaker will write the project and serve as showrunner while Dexter and Homeland director Seith Mann will step behind the camera for the first episode. The premium cable network describes the series as "an elevated genre drama, which is turning a naturalistic lens on human frailty, strength and compassion."

First published in 2004, the novel comes from Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist and was his debut work. He would quickly go on to be known as the "the Stephen King of Sweden" in some circles, while Let the Right One In would take on a life of its own after quickly being adapted into a feature film in Sweden in 2008. In 2010 the movie was re-adapted in English with The Batman and War for the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves helming the project. That version, titled Let Me In, starred Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz in the two lead roles. Let the Right One In has also been adapted for the stage in multiple languages.