Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe finally introduces one of the iconic author’s most famous creations, the ancient vampire Marius de Romanus, played by Christopher Heyerdahl. We finally meet Marius in The Vampire Lestat episode 5, “New York.” But, in that time, we only get a brief glimpse. Who is this legendary and powerful undead scholar in Anne Rice’s lore? Marius’ history ties into the vampire race’s very survival in The Vampire Lestat.
Who Is Marius de Romanus in The Vampire Lestat?
The ancient Roman vampire Marius de Romanus, who is over 2,000 years old, is one of the oldest and wisest vampires in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. He is a scholar and student of human history, and loves the art that humanity makes, such as literature, theater, and architecture. But he especially loves paintings, and becomes a painter himself in Renaissance Italy. Marius often wanders among humans dressed in red velvet clothing. He is the keeper of Those Who Must Be Kept, also known as Queen Akasha and King Enkil, the source of all vampiric power. He is also the maker of the vampire Armand, as well as the vampire Pandora. In the year 2001, Anne Rice gave Marius de Romanus his own novel, Blood and Gold.
How Old Is Marius in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles?
Marius was born in ancient Rome, about 30 years before the time of Jesus of Nazareth. He was the son of a Roman senator and a Celtic slave, but grew up to be a learned man and scholar, despite having no official status. Marius became a vampire around the year 10 AD. So, how old is Marius de Romanus in The Vampire Lestat? As mentioned, all of that makes Marius over 2,000 years old.
Marius de Romanus and Those Who Must Be Kept, Akasha and Enkil
At the age of forty, Marius de Romanus is abducted from a Roman tavern in Gaul, today modern France. Druids kidnapped him, with the plan to transform him into the replacement for their dying God of the Grove. This “God,” whom the Druids worshipped, was actually an ancient Egyptian vampire named Teshkamen. Mael, a Druid Priest, prepares Marius for months to become the tribe’s new God, and replace the old one. The tribe thought that his knowledge and linguistic skills would make Marius an ideal new Blood God.
During the night of Samhain (modern-day Halloween), Marius is taken to the God of the Grove. The God was badly burnt when Akasha was put into the sun by her keeper, since Akasha is the source of all vampiric power, her time in the sun hurt all other vampires. Teshkamen gives Marius the Dark Gift, with orders to escape the Druids and go to Egypt to seek answers about why vampires all burnt at once.
When Marius reaches Egypt, he discovers that the current keeper of Akasha and Enkil placed them out in the sun in a moment of insanity. This killed most of the vampires in the world, and burned the skin of the vampires old enough to survive. Akasha kills her old keeper upon his arrival and designates Marius de Romanus as her new guardian. Marius then devotes the next 2,000 years to protecting Akasha and Enkil.
Marius Is Armand’s Vampire Maker: The History Between The Pair
At some point during his watching of Akasha and Enkil, in the 15th century, Marius lived as a painter in Venice, Italy. During this time, he buys a young slave from Russia named Andrei, whom he renames Amadeo, meaning “Beloved of God.” He develops a great love for the boy, although there are clear power and age imbalances between them that prevent the relationship from being equitable. Armand is a child and a slave, and Marius, an ancient, has total control of his existence. When Amadeo is 17, he falls ill and is dying of poison, and so Marius finally turns him into a vampire.
Eventually, a local Satanic coven, the Children of Darkness, attacks Marius for not obeying their laws. The coven leader, Santino, sets Marius ablaze, believing he’d killed him. Santino kidnaps and brainwashes Amadeo into following their ways, renaming him Armand. Both vampires believe Marius is dead, but he survived by jumping into the canal. He makes a vampire of a local courtesan, Bianca Solderini, who nurses him back to health. Marius continues his watch over Akasha and Enkil, and he never reveals his survival to Armand, whom he now considers brainwashed. He admits to Lestat, later, his regrets about giving Armand the Dark Gift.
From the perspective of a modern audience, the relationship between Marius and Armand is riddled with issues and traumas that will surely need to be handled with care as they are adapted for The Vampire Lestat series. However, from the perspective of Anne Rice’s books, Marius is not specifically seen as a villain for his relationship with Armand.
What is Marius’ relationship with Lestat?
Lestat learns about Marius de Romanus from Armand. In the 18th century, Armand describes his maker and his apparent demise. But Lestat doesn’t believe that Marius could have died in that attempt on his life. Lestat and his mother, Gabrielle, spend years looking for Marius across Europe, writing messages for him on walls, hoping to draw him out so they can meet the ancient vampire.
After Gabrielle leaves him, Lestat buries himself in the Earth in a state of deep depression, and eventually Marius finds him and pulls him out. Marius takes the traumatized Lestat to his Mediterranean island, where he reveals the vampiric history. Marius appreciates his genuine curiosity, but swears him to secrecy about everything he knows. Alas, Lestat, the cad he is, drinks from Akasha, stirring her awareness. And so, Marius tells him to run away, and when the time is right, he will find him again.
Is Marius de Romanus a Villain or an Ally?
Marius is very fond of Lestat and is in many ways the mentor that he wished his maker Magnus had been. Even when Lestat breaks his promise to Marius and reveals the vampiric history to the world, Marius doesn’t hold it against him. When Akasha rises, she traps him under sheets of ice, immobilizing him. But she chooses not to kill him, perhaps as a bit of gratitude for keeping her safe for centuries.
After Queen Akasha decimates the vampire species, Marius survives and continues to exist after being freed from his 2,000-year charge. For a time, he becomes a mentor to the newly made vampire, Daniel Molloy, his “grandson” in vampiric terms. In the film Queen of the Damned, French actor Vincent Perez played Marius, and was Lestat’s maker, a big deviation from the books.
Again, as mentioned, though fans and readers percieve Marius as a villain for his relationship with Armand, the series itself does not necessarily condemn him for it.
Marius in The Vampire Lestat AMC Series
In The Vampire Lestat, former Twilight Saga actor Christopher Heyerdahl plays Marius. In those films, he also played an elder vampire, Marcus Volturi. The Vampire Lestat‘s Marius de Romanus seems older than book Marius, appearing to be in his sixties. In the series, he’s still the keeper of Akasha and Enkil, but he reveals he accidentally left them out in the sun once, burning many vampires worldwide. Akasha has also instructed him telepathically to bring Lestat to her, to replace Marius as her new keeper.
This is a deviation from the novel, where Marius rescued Lestat of his own accord. He also seems to have less warm feelings toward his fledgling Armand in the series, referring to him as a “rotten boy.” Marius in the series seems angrier at Lestat sharing blood with Akasha, and doesn’t really give him any specific orders when it comes to revealing any secrets.
In The Vampire Lestat, we don’t yet get any information about Marius’ backstory, or his personal history with Armand—beyond the glimpses Armand offers in Interview with the Vampire season two. However, the serues may be saving that for future episodes or seasons. We definitely hope the AMC series gives us more information about this member of Anne Rice’s canon, Marius de Romanus’ presence will certainly be a complex one to add to the narrative.
The Vampire Lestat airs at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC and AMC+. You can also read The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice today as you wait for the next episode of the series to air.
This post has affiliate links, which means we may earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, we just have to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!
The post Who Is Marius de Romanus in THE VAMPIRE LESTAT? appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com
You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .
Why USAGoldMines ?
USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.