The Queen of the Damned

Akasha wakes, destroys Enkil and burns vampires all over the world. She takes Lestat as her consort and lays out her plan: kill nearly every man and rule as a goddess. Meanwhile, the surviving elders gather at Maharet's home in Sonoma. Maharet tells how she and her twin, Mekare, red-haired witches, crossed paths with Akasha in ancient Egypt, and how the spirit Amel entered the queen and made the first vampire. Jesse Reeves, a Talamasca member and Maharet's descendant, gets too close to the tribe. Lestat can't talk Akasha out of it. Mekare arrives and ends the queen, taking in the core that keeps them all alive. Jesse becomes a vampire, and the survivors try to move on.

1. ChangeNo twins story

   Half the book tells Akasha's origin and the story of Maharet and Mekare. The 2002 film cuts nearly all of it and puts Lestat at the center.

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2. ChangeAkasha's end

   In the book, Mekare is the one who ends Akasha and takes her place as queen. The film hands that ending to a different character.

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3. ChangeWho turns Jesse

   Jesse, the Talamasca researcher, is turned by Maharet in the book. The film changes who does it.

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4. Behind the scenesRacing the deadline

   The rights would have gone back to Anne Rice at the end of 2000 if filming hadn't started. It began on October 2, 2000. Aaliyah, the film's Akasha, died in a plane crash before release.

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