True Blood Reboot Won't Bring Back Anna Paquin and the Original Cast

When reports emerged that a new True Blood TV series was being developed, many fans wondered if there would be involvement from the original HBO series' stars, with exec Casey Bloys recently confirming that the project is in the early stages of development and there are no plans to bring back original cast members. The new reboot comes from Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and NOS4A2 showrunner Jami O'Brien and is based on the South Vampire Mysteries series of novels from author Charlaine Harris. It's also currently unknown if the upcoming series will be a retelling of the source material and the previous series or if it will explore all-new corners of the fantastical world.

HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys addressed how the revival of True Blood, along with the Sex and the City and Game of Thrones franchise revivals, are what draw the most attention from fans, despite the network offering a number of other original programs.

"It is something I'm mindful of, rebooting material is something we are experiencing across the industry," Bloys shared during a Television Critics Association event, per Deadline. "There is power in that, you are dealing with nostalgia and people's emotional connection with a show but like with anything, I don't want to do too many. I think there are original stories to tell, and we don't want to lose that, so it's always a balancing act."

Anna Paquin starred in the original True Blood series as Sookie Stackhouse, with the actress recently wishing the new reboot well, while also admitting that it likely won't see the return of her or the rest of the original cast.

"We do live in an era of entertainment where the reboot and the sequel have become a currency. So, is it time? I don't know," Paquin expressed to Collider earlier this year. "That's really not my department. It was some of the best years of my life, but I don't think them continuing to tell those stories or continuing in that world really has anything to do with the thing that we created. That's its own special little entity that was ours and came with a whole family of cast and crew who are still in touch. We had a Cinco de Mayo lockdown Zoom with our cast and crew, and there were 75 people. We actually all are a family who has stayed in touch, and not just the actors. These are our people."

She added, "So, I wish them well. I don't know if they need us for anything. Aren't we all too old now? But it's a fun world. It's a supernatural world with endless possibilities. Of course, there's room to do more and to tell more stories within that universe. We don't own it."

Stay tuned for details on the new True Blood.

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