- "Vampire Academy" showrunners told Insider they avoided casting former "The Vampire Diaries" stars.
- Julie Plec was executive producer on "Vampire Diaries" and Marguerite MacIntyre starred in it.
"Vampire Academy" showrunners Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre have told Insider why they were adamant about not bringing in stars from their former hit show, "The Vampire Diaries."
Plec was executive producer of the 2010s series, which was adapted from a book series of the same name, as well as the show's two spinoffs, "The Originals" and "Legacies." Meanwhile, McIntyre starred as Sheriff Liz Forbes in "The Vampire Diaries," before becoming a consulting producer on the spinoffs.
Together, Plec and MacIntyre are now cocreators of a new young adult vampire book series-turned-TV show, "Vampire Academy," which premieres on Peacock Thursday.
In an interview with Insider, MacIntyre said she would have loved to have her previous "Vampire Diaries" castmates return but wanted to keep the worlds separate.
"You know how much I would love my 'Vampire Diaries' castmates ... they're the greatest people, and the same with 'The Originals' and 'Legacies,'" she said. "They're all wonderful actors and we love them all, but given the fact that this was such a unique, specific, separate world, we wanted to at least give a season where people can just suspend their disbelief and not cloud the water."
MacIntyre continued: "This is not the same world as those other shows existed, so we didn't wanna confuse anything by doing any of that casting as we launched the show."
The former "Vampires Diaries" actor did add that "things could change" in future seasons of the series.
The showrunners also explained why they were excited to get back into the vampire world so soon after "Legacies," the last "Vampire Diaries" spinoff, concluded on The CW.
"When I read something that I really love, I get this territorial wish inside my soul to be able to be the one to bring it to television," Plec said.
MacIntyre added that she was interested in the royal and political side of the "Vampire Academy" world.
The series focuses on two friends, Lissa, a royal (Moroi) vampire, and Rose, her bodyguard dhampir, who is half-human.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lissa gets swept up in the politics of her land while Rose does her best to protect her.
"There's something about that royal intrigue and the interplay of the politics in that world that I was very fascinated by," MacIntyre said.
MacIntyre also stressed that "Vampire Academy" has a very different "vibe" from the previous vampire shows.
The first four episodes of "Vampire Academy" premiere Thursday on Peacock.