Despite only leaving screens seven years ago, HBO’s gory fantasy horror series True Blood is set to be rebooted soon, but which of the show’s original main characters could possibly return for this new version of the series? Beginning in 2008 and wrapping up in 2014 as the undead craze waned in popularity, True Blood was a paranormal romance/horror series adapted from the best-selling Sookie Stackhouse mystery novels by Charlaine Harris.
Positing itself as a more adult alternative to Twilight, True Blood was a gorier and sexier — but no less campy and silly — serialized southern Gothic melodrama that fused mystery tropes and horror elements in its story of vampires, werewolves, faeries, and other mythological monsters. The series won critical acclaim in its early seasons thanks to some sharp social satire, the chemistry between real-life sweethearts Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, and breakout-star Alexander Sarsgaard’s charming turn as the villainous Eric.
By the time True Blood ended in 2014, it had run out of steam, and many fans had run out of patience with the inconsistent and often slow series. Infamously ending without resolving the central Sookie-Bill-Eric-Sam love quadrangle (to which the only correct answer was always, of course, the wild card Alcide), True Blood frustrated many fans and critics by running longer than the show’s charms could withstand and dragging out many under-written plots. However, no show stays dead for long in the cultural graveyard of contemporary television, so True Blood is soon to be rebooted in recent news that came as a shock to everyone (including Paquin herself, who learned this news online). This leads to the question of where the show’s central players were last seen, who can return for the reboot, and who is truly dead for good in the world of True Blood.
The razor-sharp heroine of the series, Anna Paquin’s career-defining role as Sookie Stackhouse is one that the actor could definitely reprise in the upcoming True Blood reboot story-wise. Alternatively, the role could be recast with a new face taking on the part, although it will be hard for anyone to replace Anna Paquin’s take on Sookie. Ending the series by starting a family not with Eric or Bill, but with some unseen random, True Blood’s central character is in a perfect position to pick up where the show left off — whether the new series focuses on her continuing adventures, her kids, or the broader True Blood universe.
The show’s original star (after Sookie), Bill took an irreversible turn when he went from Sookie’s flawed-but-loving love interest and became the vampire king. Power went to the once-humble antihero’s head, and by the end of the series, the character Sookie seemed fated to end up with was crumbling his way to the true death and ended up buried for good by her instead. In terms of believable plot, there’s no chance of Bill Compton returning from the dead — but stranger things have happened in TV reboots, and bringing back Bill would certainly garner serious attention for sheer shock value. It’s an actively bad idea that would sap the series of its stakes before the reboot even begins, but there is nonetheless a chance that Bill will return through some absurd deus ex machina. Don't count him out yet.
It’s difficult to consider the chances of Eric Northman returning without taking into consideration his actor’s current career. On the one hand, in storytelling terms, Eric should absolutely be around and involved in any True Blood reboot. Outside of Sookie Stackhouse herself, he’s the most central character to survive the HBO series, and as a prominent vampire who rules over the show's world, he would likely be an important player in any vampire-related intrigue taking place. That said, original Eric actor Alexander Sarsgaard has gone on to become a blockbuster movie star in the intervening years since True Blood wrapped, cropping up in everything from the live-action Tarzan to the upcoming Godzilla vs Kong.
That said, Sarsgaard is also still active on television in the big-budget likes of Big Little Lies and The Stand, so he may be willing to reprise the role if the price is right. If not, it’s a role that can be recast and almost definitely will be, as Eric was not only a fan favorite but also left alive and ready to return by the end of the original True Blood series. Odds of a return are extremely likely here.
Sookie’s feckless younger brother managed to survive the entire run of True Blood despite the odds being stacked against him since he was likely the most reckless and hot-headed member of the cast. He was last seen with three kids and a happy marriage, an unexpectedly stable ending for a character who was typically busy risking his life or bedding the entire town of Bon Temps throughout the series. Like his bride Bridgette, Jason seems set to return for any reboot since he is alive, healthy, and like his sister, has a new generation of potential protagonists to raise.
Eric’s unwavering second-in-command, the icy, sarcastic Pam made for a memorable foil to Sookie’s heart-on-her-sleeve heroism. The vampire survived the end of True Blood’s original run and was last seen charging rich vampires a fortune to feed on the infamous villainess Sarah Newlin. There’s no reason she shouldn’t crop up in the reboot, and the series could benefit from her acerbic wit given how many comic relief characters were killed off by the later seasons.
Last seen marrying decent human/least interesting character Hoyt, Jessica completed her transformation from a wild-hearted and insatiable newborn vampire into a stable family woman by the end of True Blood’s seventh season. Another character blessed by an uncharacteristically charitable ending from the typically cynical, bloody series, Jessica is not only likely to return since she was a major part of the original show, but also because her comparative youth could make her character a bridge between Sookie and Jason’s generation and the (presumably younger) protagonists that the True Blood reboot focuses on.
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February 08, 2021 at 05:20AM
