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European offensive cybersecurity company Paradigm Shift released details of a flaw and a technique to exploit it that opens the door for hackers to unlock and break into older iPhones.

Google DeepMind and A24 are teaming up to build AI filmmaking tools.

⚡ Quick Take

• Warner Bros. has revealed the first official details on Dyanmic Duo, a film featuring Batman’s first two Robins, blending puppetry and animation.

We’ve known about a unique puppetry/animation combo film coming from DC Studios for some time. It will focus on Batman’s first two Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, and is aptly titled Dynamic Duo. But, until now, there were few details about what the story would focus on. At the Annecy Festival, Warner Bros. revealed that the film would take a new approach to the origin stories of these two iconic heroes, changing it up from their DC Comics lore.

In this version, Dick and Jason are “street rats” together (like Aladdin?) who call themselves the Dynamic Duo. But eventually, the two go in very different directions. Dick starts working for Batman, while Jason ends up in the Red Hood gang. The two friends then wind up on opposing forces in Gotham City.

First plot details for DC's puppet-animated film ‘DYNAMIC DUO’.

• Follows Jason & Dick as duo of street rats who name themselves the dynamic duo

• The duo split up as Dick ends up joining Batman while Jason joins the Red Hood gang

Revealed at #AnnecyFestival pic.twitter.com/tHpepUW4H8

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 22, 2026

Some of this tracks with DC Comics history. Jason Todd as a street-kid orphan is very much part of Batman lore. However, Dick Grayson was a circus acrobat of some acclaim before his parents were murdered, and Bruce Wayne adopted him. This synopsis does not sound like they are sticking to that. Although we suppose that he could still have been a circus kid who lost his folks, and wound up on the street. The use of the Red Hood Gang also implies that the Joker will be a part of this story. Before he became the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker was part of that criminal gang. The Joker famously killed Jason Todd when he was Robin, only for him to come back years later as the Red Hood.

DC Comics

We imagine at some point in the movie, Jason will turn on the gang and join the side of the good guys as a more heroic Red Hood. At first, there was some speculation that this movie would take place in the DCU. But it seems James Gunn has debunked that, maintaining that this is its own standalone story. So when Dick Grayson does appear in the DCU, probably as Nightwing, it will likely be a more traditional version. Dynamic Duo currently has a release date of June 30, 2028. Although given the complicated productions for animated projects, we suspect that the release date is not firm. We’ll have to wait and see.

The post DC’s DYNAMIC DUO Film Officially Reveals First Story Details appeared first on Nerdist.

⚡ Quick Take

• Keanu Reeves is reportedly in negotiations to star in a live-action/animated hybrid LEGO movie directed by Toy Story 4’s Josh Cooley.

Toy Story 4 introduced a Canadian icon to the franchise. The Duke Caboom toy might have disappointed kids who got him as a gift, but he didn’t disappoint viewers. Now the duo that helped bring the mustachioed daredevil to the screen are looking to team-up once again. But this time, they’re going to blend animation and live-action. A new report says Keanu Reeves is in negotiations to star in a hybrid LEGO film from Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley.

Pixar

Deadline‘s Justin Kroll says Keanu Reeves is currently in negotiations to headline LEGO’s long-planned answer to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? And it sounds like he’s pretty far along in the process after weeks of discussion. Universal was reportedly looking for a big name star to finally get a long-gestating project off the ground. The studio first acquired the rights to the LEGO property in 2020. According to Kroll, after many false starts, Universal started to build the film around Reeves’ unknown character. He then signed off on the idea after Cooley, who also penned Inside Out, was brought on to sell his idea.

It’s a pretty good combo. A longtime Pixar veteran, Cooley most recently directed 2024’s Transformers One. Reeves also just reprised his role as Duke Caboom with a small role in Toy Story 5. The LEGO Group’s Jill Wilfert and Ryan Christians will serve as producers.

Netflix

There are no details about Cooley’s pitch just yet. All that is known is that it will combine animation and live-action. While Reeves could certainly voice a cartoon character, as he more than proved with Duke Caboom, it seems impossible he won’t be the live-action lead. (Hence the whole “Universal wanting an A-lister” thing.)

Keanu Reeves interacting with sentient LEGO characters is pretty much all we need from a movie pitch.

The post Keanu Reeves Will Reportedly Star in LEGO Hybrid Live-Action/Animated Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

Claude's chatbot may ask to verify your age and identity "in certain circumstances," such as with a passport or driver's license, according to a privacy policy change.

⚡ Quick Take

• Valve has announced a massive new piece of hardware, with the Steam Machine coming in 2026, a PC/console hybrid 6x faster than Steam Deck.
• The Steam Machine will cost between $1,049.00 and $1,428.00, making it more expensive than other consoles.
• Nerdist Take: The Steam Machine could bridge the gap between console gaming and PC gaming.

With Microsoft effectively ceding the console wars to Sony and Nintendo, giving the competition access to once-proprietary Xbox games like Halo, it seemed like it’s a two-horse race. Will it be PlayStation or Nintendo Switch that reigns supreme? Well, don’t count Valve out of that battle. The company behind Steam has announced a massive new piece of hardware. (Via IGN.) And now, we officially have pricing for this next-gen Steam Machine and Steam Controller, as well as its specs and size. According to Valve, the console/PC hybrid will have six times (that’s 6x!) more powerful than Steam Deck. And it will cost…

Valve How Much Will the Steam Machine Cost?

In all, the Steam Machine will cost between $1,049.00 and $1,428.00, making it more expensive than most other consoles out there. However, the Steam Machine is also a full gaming PC, so it is more than just a console.

The pricing breakdown is more specifically:

• Steam Machine 512GB costs $1,049.00
• Steam Machine 512GB with Controller costs $1,128.00
• Steam Machine 2TB costs $1,349.00
• Steam Machine 2TB with Controller costs $1,428.00

What Are the Features of the Steam Machine?

The memory for the Steam Machine is pretty huge. As mentioned, two models will be available in 2026. One will be 512GB and the other 2TB. It will ship both alone and in a bundle with Steam Controller. The Steam Machine, a follow-up to the previous 2015 version, will feature a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T CPU, a semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 GPU, and supports 4K gaming at 60 frames per second with FSR. Valve described the new Steam Machine as six times more powerful than Steam Deck, with 16GB DDR5 and 8GB GDDR6 VRAM.

In more technical terms, here are the exact specs of the Steam Machine 512GB.

• Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T
• Semi-custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs
• 16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
• 512GB NVMe SSD, microSD card slot
• Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit ethernet
• Integrated Steam Controller wireless adapter
• Small form factor, ~6 inch cube
• SteamOS 3

And the exact specs of the Steam Machine 2TB:

• Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T
• Semi-custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs
• 16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
• 2TB NVMe SSD, microSD card slot
• Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, Gigabit ethernet
• Integrated Steam Controller wireless adapter
• Small form factor, ~6 inch cube
• SteamOS 3
• Extra faceplates – red fabric and solid walnut

When Will the Steam Machine Release? And How Can You Buy It? Valve

To get your hands on a Steam Machine, you’ll have to first sign up for a reservation to be able to buy the Steam Machine. You can sign up for your reservation any time before Thursday, June 25th, at 10 a.m. Pacific. After that:

We will close signups and do a one-time randomization to determine the reservation and waitlist order.

Based on the reservation order, you will receive an email on June 25th indicating one of two things:

• You’ve been added to the reservation queue and a Steam Machine has been reserved in your name. As units become available for shipment, people in the reservation queue will receive an email with the option to purchase.
  • We’ll send the first batch of those starting Monday June 29th, and will continue to go through the reservation queue as units become available. 
• You’ve been added to the waitlist and we’ll let you know when more units become available.

What Games Will the Steam Machine Play?

The Steam Machine will play “your whole Steam library, including your favorite AAA titles. Just sign in with your Steam account and your entire library is there.”

Nerdist Take: The Steam Machine Could Bridge the Gap Between Console and PC Gaming Valve

Console gaming versus PC gaming has long been the dividing line, and if this is legitimately both, that really makes the next-gen Steam Machine an intriguing proposition for all parties. As a pure console player, I’ve missed out on a lot of PC-only titles. I’m sure it’s the same the other way for PC gamers. The versatility of such a powerful device will bring a lot of interest from either side. It will, of course, be dependent on the price. My guess? Quite high.

Gabe Newell, the head honcho of Valve, said the following: “We’ve been super happy with the success of Steam Deck, and PC gamers have continued asking for even more ways to play all the great titles in their Steam libraries. Our work over the years on other hardware and even more importantly on SteamOS has enabled Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame to do just that.”

If you’d like more info on particular specs, you can visit the Steam site.

Originally published November 12, 2025.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

Originally published on June 5, 2026.

The post Steam Machine Gets Pricing and Release Date appeared first on Nerdist.

Amazon is planning to increase the footprint of its new conversational AI assistant Alexa+ to India and is inviting users in the country to test out a Hindi-language version.

⚡ Quick Take

• Warner Bros. Pictures Animation has an animated movie for The Powerpuff Girls in the works.
• A deal has yet to be secured, so there are no further details about it at this time.
• Will the third time be the charm for reviving this beloved animated series?

An adorable mix of sugar, spice, and everything nice—along with some serious crime-fighting skills—is coming to the big screen. The Powerpuff Girls will rise again thanks to an animated movie that’s currently in development with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. According to Variety, the news surfaced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. 

Hanna-Barbera/Warner Bros. Animation

Right now, things are in the very early stages with no official deal in place. Therefore there are no further details about the plot and what we will see in the city of Townsville. All we know is that we better get more Mojo Jojo and HIM on the big screen. Since the animated show’s ending in 2005, attempts to bring the Powerpuff Girls back have not gone well, to say the least. Despite lasting for a couple of years, the 2016 rebooted series was critically panned and widely disliked by fans.

RELATED ARTICLE

The Canceled Live-Action POWERPUFF GIRLS Series Trailer Surfaces and It’s Bizarre

And, well, there was that ill-fated live-action film that thankfully never came to fruition. We all saw the leaked trailer that explained so much about why it ended up never seeing the light of day. So, perhaps the third time is indeed the charm to revive Buttercup, Blossom, and Bubbles. We will keep an eye out and see if we are truly getting a Powerpuff Girls animated movie or if this project will end up falling into the abyss.

The post THE POWERPUFF GIRLS Animated Movie in Development appeared first on Nerdist.

Reflection AI will pay $150 million a month beginning July 1, 2026 through 2029 for immediate access to Nvidia's latest GB300 AI chips and supporting hardware across SpaceX's Colossus 2 data center near Memphis, Tennessee.

Widow’s Bay crept its way into quickly fueling obsessive fandom discourse, converting viewers with its genre-bending, darkly comedic first season. With a finale that both satisfied its captive audience and rewarded them with a calculatedly chilling turn of events for Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) and his cabinet of close compatriots, there are now more questions than answers left to unearth beneath the ground of the cursed island shores.

⚡ Quick Take

• Widow’s Bay gave us a finale with a lot of intriguing and unsolved mysteries.
• The series will return for season two, and we hope we get answers to the following 8 mysteries.

Considering that the island is hungry for more tourism than Loftis could have imagined, the season ends with a bell tolling and eight lives left to feed the entity that requires human sacrifices. So with that, here are eight intriguing mysteries that are still unsolved that we hope to see play out in the future. Thankfully, Widow’s Bay scored a season two renewal, so there’s a chance. (And we want more sunset cocktails with Patricia!)

1. Which Deaths Count to Satisfy the Island on Widow’s Bay?

At the start of the season, the death knell of the bell tolls nine times. But even after the events in the episodes that followed, we don’t get a hint of what counts until the season finale. The storm and island threat were assuaged only after Evan and his friends left Kenny to be fed to the entity. Which means that as the sacrifice protocol reveals itself to Dale, the island’s hunger requires that its human meals be in a pure state of fear and in its proximity to pounce on them.

RELATED ARTICLE

Apple TV Greenlights WIDOW’S BAY Season 2

Despite sailor Shep’s deadly outburst, the priest’s suicide, and the drug dealer getting sucked into the island’s supernatural tornado, those deaths did not count. Tom and Evan hear the bell sound eight times in the finale, meaning that the island is a little less mad. Now, the mayor must face the reality that it might fall on him to keep the island satiated in future seasons.

2. Was the Boogeyman Collecting Teen Souls for the Island?

Widow’s Bay does a great job at hinting to the audience that the mayor is supposed to be the one inclined to search for sacrifices. Loftis’ strange obsession with getting more tourists on the island could speak to that being an instinct that the environment he’s in encourages. But what happens if the mayor refuses? Mayor Howard the Coward is referenced in the season around the time that punk PJ traps Kevin in the room with the chair. If Loftis refuses, could PJ continue in this tradition?

Take the Boogeyman, whose sudden teen killing spree might have been compelled by the island. He could not be stopped and made sure his victims were in a deep state of fear. If he were somehow a possessed conduit of the island’s evil, that fed it until he was locked away before claiming Patricia. That connection likely made the killer indestructible, like Warren in the coffin for all those years before he was freed by someone. Thankfully, Patricia, in all her glory, made sure the Boogeyman was ashes that could not regenerate, giving her the best final girl ascension.

3. Is Loftis Hiding More About What Really Happened to Evan’s Mom?

It’s strange for a man who weaponizes his incompetence beneath a guise of bumbling nincompoopery to have a chest of secrets and more beneath the house. Thanks to Tom, Evan thought his mom died in childbirth, but she lived as a shell of a person in a hospital. Loftis knew that trying to get her off the island almost killed her, and he clearly is doing everything he can to stop that fate from befalling his son. It all makes Loftis’ identity as well-meaning hit some snags, even if he’s operating to make the island a better cage to keep his son safe and alive in.

But where is she? Once we find out she lived and was committed to an asylum, that leaves room for the possibility that it’s connected to the mystery of the hospital that no one is supposed to stop at. We’re tired of dead moms, so we hope Lauren gets some sort of unexpected role in the show’s future.

Apple TV

Take the Boogeyman, whose sudden teen killing spree might have been compelled by the island. Think about it. He could not be stopped and made sure his victims were in a deep state of fear, and if he were somehow a possessed conduit of the island’s evil, it made it easy to keep it fed until he was locked away before claiming Patricia. That connection likely gave the killer extra lives that could not be extinguished for those years in between before he was freed by someone on the island. Thankfully Patricia in all her glory made sure the Boogeyman was ashes that could not regenerate in the best final girl scene committed to television in a long time. 

4. Does Widow’s Bay Have Cryptids Like Werewolves? (The answer better be yes.)

When Ruth regales Loftis with her pull on the island, starting off with her first love, she begins dropping her deepest of lore. “He got bit by an animal and became that animal” became an instantly iconic line delivery from actress K. Callan.

Earlier in the season, Loftis flips through a calendar that’s just wolves, so we sure as hell hope this means werewolves will show up on Widow’s Bay. Really, any other cryptids, for that matter, like the sea hag that tried to eat Tom before Wyck saved him. It’d also be really cool to see Wyck get a round two with his sea beast, but if he’s inspired by Quint from Jaws, we fear for his fate.

5. Are Warren’s Descendants Purposefully Alluring to Keep the Bloodline Going?

In the flashback episode, we’re introduced to the origins of the suspicions about Richard Warren (Hamish Linklater) making a deal with the devil of sorts when his second wife, Sarah (Betty Gilpin), sees him more interested in getting rid of bodies the island is presumably being fed instead of lying in bed with her. Then, of course, thinking that burying him alive would mean the horrors would end, but alas, not since his youngest daughter made it back ashore. This daughter will be wed off to her very much older savior as soon as she is of age.

The curse clearly wants to keep the Warren bloodline going. Ruth’s long list of people who made a pass at her, hilarious as it was, resulted in her giving in to a married man and getting pregnant with Lauren.

Apple TV

The pull-out method, not working, as a joke set up by Tom, is echoed by Ruth, which makes his concern for Evan valid. It does make us wonder, however, what would happen if Evan got his tourist fling pregnant? Tom’s mom got pregnant by a Widow’s Bay local, but he was born on the mainland. Yet he was made to visit his dad every summer, which led to his meeting Lauren and having Evan. Would the Boston girl be seduced back onto the island somehow?

6. Did Bechir and His Wife Make It Off the Island?

It is never revealed if Bechir’s wife went into labor after all. Once the storm cleared up and it was safe to get out of there, we can imagine that the chief could have just been done and gotten himself and his wife off the island. Tom could have encouraged him to just leave him to worry about the last Warren, eliminating and pushing out an imminent threat to his son’s life.

7. Did Ruth Survive the Gunshot?

From the looks of the moment, she could have gotten her ear grazed. So if she’s alive and holds this secret too, it would make Bechir’s departure more pressing. Evan needs to connect with her as his grandmother since his mom wrote to him about her secret second mother. In retrospect, that letter now seems less like the ravings of a madwoman and makes sense. Also, we want to see Ruth reunite with her were-animal beau.

8. Was Warren’s Deal Actually Good for Widow’s Bay?

It would not be surprising if, as long as a Warren lived on the island, Richard’s deal, which he vehemently defended even after being buried alive, still stood. That only a certain number of sacrifices, enough to sustain the evil, would be required to allow the people of Widow’s Bay to live out their lives on the island. No one let Warren discuss the alternative, which could very well be that if not for the pact he made in desperation to allow his colony to thrive, it might actually be for the greater good. All things considered, the deal with the island is the trolley problem that every mayor has had to face.

Apple TV

And when they don’t, it appears someone gets compelled to be the shepherd leading the lambs to slaughter, whether it’s their leader or a boogeyman. Sure, Evans’ death would break the pact allowing people to leave, but would that really be a good thing? With that occurring, would the curse the show hinges on be revealed as a blessing in disguise that they turn on and, in return, allow the evil to consume Widows Bay unchecked? Evan’s life just might be the only thing standing between Widow’s Bay and a far worse fate if the evil is allowed to go unchecked.

The post 8 Mysteries That WIDOW’S BAY Must Solve Next Season appeared first on Nerdist.

WhatsApp gets a new boss, as Will Cathcart moves to a new role at Meta, while Shah steps down as CEO of Indian fintech giant CRED to replace Cathcart.

⚡ Quick Take

• Prime Video has announced a season two renewal of Bloodaxe before the premiere of its first episode.

Prime Video has just announced that its upcoming series, Bloodaxe, has been renewed for a second season. This news comes before even the show’s first episode drops in 2027. This is certainly a bold move from the studio, but Prime has been on a renewal kick with Invincible and the Critical Role animated series doing well.

The History Channel

Bloodaxe‘s first season won’t come out until early next year, but nonetheless, Season 2 will start filming in August in Dublin, Ireland.

Bloodaxe chronicles the rise of one of history’s most famous Norse raiders, Erik Bloodaxe, and his formidable wife Gunnhild, Mother of Kings. As they fight for the throne of Norway, the land is torn apart by fierce rivals, shifting loyalties, and bloody betrayals.

Vikings was a 6-series historical drama. Hirst, its creator, was also behind Real Vikings, a one-series documentary, and Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla, which ran from 2022 to 2024. Unsurprisingly then, Hirst is also the creator of Bloodaxe alongside his son Horatio Hirst.

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Considering the lengthy runs of Hirst’s other popular shows, the early renewal hardly comes as a surprise. It would make sense for Bloodaxe to have 4-6 seasons.

Despite being based on a true story, Hirst says the show is going to introduce elements of magical realism.

“I’ve always loved magical realism. King Arthur, the Bible – that’s magical realism, too. You have to be very careful how you use it, though, and the audience needs to be aware that you’re emphasizing something real.”

This is another theme Hirst has experience working with after Camelot. His 2011 show followed Arthurian legend, from the wizard Merlin to Arthur’s round table. Bloodaxe promises a good mix of all of the storytelling experience Hirst has gained through his years in television. The first season will come out sometime early next year, with season two also on the horizon.

The post BLOODAXE Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of 2027 Premiere appeared first on Nerdist.

Instagram is coming for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as it sets its ambitions for living room viewing.

Save up to $190 on your pass to TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 by June 26, 11:59 p.m. PT. Designed for founders first on November 4 in Boston. Register here.

⚡ Quick Take

• A Dungeon Crawler Carl TV series is officially happening at Peacock. Seth MacFarlane, Chris Yoast, and author Matt Dinniman to helm.

Dungeon Crawler Carl has crawled its way into becoming a true phenomenon. And the next place Carl and the ever-beloved Princess Donut (his ex’s cat) are heading is to our screens. Yes, Peacock has officially green-lit a live-action TV series version of Dungeon Crawler Carl, and it’s coming from writer Chris Yost and executive producer Seth MacFarlane. Although fans envisioned an animated series for this fantastical intergalactic adventure, author Matt Dinniman has promised that live-action will be a great way to bring this LitRPG to life.

Dinniman himself celebrated the official greenlight for a straight-to-series order for a Dungeon Crawler Carl TV series. He noted that he will do a panel at this year’s SDCC and likely release more details about what fans can expect next.

Conversations about a live-action Dungeon Crawler Carl TV series have been circulating for some time. But fans will surely feel glad that Peacock has finally made a firm move. Still, it feels like it will still be some time before we see Dungeon Crawler Carl level up into its new form. Variety reports that the TV series is “now officially in development.” But we still live in early days.

Amazon

For those who don’t know too much about this title, here is the logline of the Dungeon Crawler Carl TV series, “An alien invasion has wiped out most of humanity and any survivors are forced to fight for their lives on a sadistic intergalactic game show. Sounds bad, right? Now try doing it with bare feet and a stuck-up, self-centered, tiara-wearing talking cat as your partner. Welcome to Dungeon Crawler World: Earth, where the apocalypse will be televised … and Coast Guard vet Carl finds himself stuck with his ex-girlfriend’s award-winning show cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk, as they try to survive the end of the world, fighting monsters, aliens, an insane A.I. and even other survivors … all for the sake of good TV. Survival is optional. Entertainment is not.”

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The book series is a LitRPG, which means it uses video game mechanics, such as leveling up, experience points, and character stats, to tell its story in text. To be clear, the audience does not make any decisions in LitRPG books, but they do get to experience this interesting style of storytelling. Currently, there are seven Dungeon Crawler Carl books in the world, with plans for 10 in total. The eighth Dungeon Crawler Carl book will release on May 12, making this a great time to announce the TV series.

Amazon

Dinniman had this to say to fans wary of a live-action Dungeon Crawler Carl series, “[We’re] not going to do it if it’s gonna look like absolute shit. And they will do CGI testing on Princess Donut and stuff like that. And that’s all I can say, I think. It’s all gonna hinge on what it looks like. But Fuzzy Door, specifically, if you watch ‘Ted’ or ‘The Orville,’ you’ll see that they know what they’re doing when it comes to this.”

We’ll absolutely be watching to see what Dinniman, Yost, and Seth MacFarlane create using this fun world.

Originally published April 2, 2026.

The post DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL TV Series Officially Happening at Peacock appeared first on Nerdist.

The company is also eliminating a production shift at its Arizona factory to align "production plans with anticipated demand."

After 18 years of focusing on Europe, early-stage investor Seedcamp said that it has raised $320 million for its latest fund which will see it expanding its presence in the United States.

Huntress, HackerOne, Jamf, Recorded Future, and Tanium are among the cybersecurity companies that had data stolen following an earlier breach at market research firm Klue.

Mach's approach differs sharply from some of its peers.

⚡ Quick Take

• The Vampire Lestat episode three properly introduced Nicholas de Lenfent
• Nicki is a vampire who was Lestat’s first real love.
• The AMC show’s depiction is remarkably close to Anne Rice canon.

In episode three of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat, “Toronto,” we finally get an excellent character study of Nicholas de Lenfent, Lestat’s first true love in 18th-century France. He’s once again played by actor Joseph Potter, who briefly played him in a flashback scene in Interview with the Vampire season two. But who is this enigmatic vampire in the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles canon? Much like Claudia, he’s not a character who lasted past one novel, but his impact haunts Lestat for the rest of his immortal days.

How Do Nicholas de Lenfent and Lestat First Meet? AMC Networks

In the early chapters of The Vampire Lestat, we learned that Lestat was friends with Nicholas de Lenfant as a child. They shared a potent childhood moment together, when both were taken by a local priest to a location where they burned witches in the Middle Ages. They reunited as adults after Lestat saved their French countryside village from a pack of wolves. Nicki’s father was a tailor, and he presented Lestat with a red cloak lined with their fur. The two reconnected, with Nicki explaining how he had gone to Paris to become a pupil of Mozart as a violinist. However, he ultimately wasn’t good enough, and returned home in shame. When Lestat decided to run away to Paris, he took Nicki with him, in part because he’d lived there before.

Was Nicki Lestat’s First Love? AMC Networks

By all accounts, Nicki was Lestat’s first true love, although Lestat had sexual trysts with both men and women before Nicki. He fell in love with his wit and talent as a musician, but his cynicism was often overwhelming. Yet Nicki was equally drawn to Lestat’s outgoing attitude and sense of humor. Lestat found success in Paris as an actor, but Nicki wanted to go to Paris and fail, hoping to spite his disapproving parents. They wanted him to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a tailor, not become a hedonistic musician in Paris. But Nicki was indeed Lestat’s first true love.

Why Does Nicholas Struggle After Becoming a Vampire?

Nicki struggled with depression as a human, had a tendency toward dark thoughts, and was generally cynical. He likely suffered from some form of undiagnosed mental illness. Because of this, Lestat resisted giving Nicolas the Dark Gift after becoming a vampire himself. But after Armand’s coven kidnapped Nicki and drained him of blood, Lestat gave in and turned him. This, despite his own mother Gabrielle warning him of impending disaster.

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When turned into an immortal, Nicki went catatonic for months, with Lestat bringing humans for him to feed on. Eventually, he snapped out of the catatonia and rejected Lestat for ever keeping the blood from him in the first place. He essentially tells Lestat that he “owes him” the Theater of the Vampires, and tells Lestat to leave him and Paris.

Why Does Lestat Leave Nicki? AMC Networks

Lestat leaves Nicki after he angrily rejects him, sometime after he transforms him into a vampire. He tells Lestat that he resents the fact that he succeeded in Paris as an actor, when all he wanted when they went to Paris was to disappoint his disapproving parents, whom he hated. He wanted to “go down and down and down,” while Lestat continued to “go up to the light.” And when he got “the dark magic,” as he called it, he somehow became an even brighter beacon that Nicki resented even more. So he essentially forced Lestat and Gabrielle to leave Paris.

What Happens to Nicholas in The Vampire Lestat?

After Lestat and Gabrielle leave Paris, they leave Armand in charge of the coven in the Theater, along with Nicki. Armand would write Lestat letters, informing him of his progress. Sadly, Nicki’s mental condition did not improve, and he continued to behave recklessly. He made new vampire after new vampire, drawing too much attention, and his kills were sloppy, endangering the coven. At one point, Armand chops off Nicki’s hands as punishment. Eventually, Nicki realizes he has no stamina for vampire life, and throws himself into the fire, something Lestat learns about in a letter from Armand. The ancient coven master also sends Lestat Nicki’s violin.

How Does Nicki’s Fate Affect Lestat? AMC Networks

Lestat falls into a deep depression over the death of Nicki, and he blames himself for everything that went wrong with him. In fact, he buries himself in the Earth after Nicki’s death, until the ancient vampire Marius finds him. When he eventually meets and makes Louis a vampire, he describes him as Nicki’s “spiritual twin” in many ways. He even refers to his relationship with Louis as punishment for his failings with his first love.

How Is Nicholas Different in the Books and The Vampire Lestat TV Series?

Nicolas de Lenfent is remarkably similar to his portrayal in the novels, perhaps more than any other character. One key difference is that Nicki was already in Paris when Lestat reunited with him, and they didn’t run away there together. But everything else about Nicki in AMC’s The Vampire Lestat is in keeping with Rice’s original idea of him. The other big difference is that Nicki dies with Lestat present in the room, after chopping off his own hands.

Will Nicki return in future episodes? It’s certainly possible there are more flashbacks to his and Lestat’s time together. We doubt that Nicki survived the flames in the AMC version’s events, but one never knows. The Vampire Lestat is currently dropping new episodes every Sunday night on AMC and AMC+.

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