Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi Eye ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Sequel

Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi are still keen to make a werewolf spin-off feature of their comedy movie What We Do In The Shadows as they prepare to launch the TV adaptation.

The pair also spoke at TCA alongside members of the cast of the FX series about the differences between the small-screen and big screen versions of the story

Waititi said that he and Clement are still keen to make a spin-off of the 2014 feature, following the group of werewolves. It has previously had the title ‘We’re Wolves‘. “We always had plans to make another movie, but other things, Thor, got in the way, of our plans to make a werewolf movie and we keep talking about that.”

He said that the movie took 14 months to edit, largely because of the improv nature of the film, and keeping the script away from the cast. With the TV series, however, they did give scripts to stars including Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén and Mark Proksch.

Clement joked that he “didn’t make the cut” when it came to the TV series. “I’ve done it in the past, writing a show that I’m in and it’s really difficult,” he said.

Waititi, who directed Thor: Ragnarok, said that he was really comfortable going back to TV after helming the big-budget superhero movie. “Going back on set felt very natural,” he said. “The budget of the show is way bigger than the film. Not Thor.”

Created by Clement, the 10-episode series is a documentary-style look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of four vampires who’ve “lived” together for hundreds of years. In Staten Island.

The series follows the self-appointed leader of the group is Nandor The Relentless (Novak), a great warrior and conqueror from the Ottoman Empire, who has taken the helm of the group despite many of his Old World tactics resulting in what some might politely refer to as bupkis. Then there’s the British vampire Laszlo (Berry) – a bit of a rogue and a dandy and a fop, he might say. He’s a lover of mischief and a great soirée, but not as much as he loves seeing Nandor fail miserably in every attempt. And then there’s Nadja (Demetriou): the seductress, the temptress, the vampiric Bonnie to Laszlo’s Clyde. Her wisdom and provocative tales from times past allow us insight into the many ups and downs of living an immortal life.

Also cohabiting in the vampire household is Guillermo (Guillén), Nandor’s familiar (a.k.a. servant/protector during the daylight hours), who wants nothing more than to be made a real vampire just like his master. Also lurking about is Colin Robinson (Proksch), an energy vampire and day-walker of sorts — he feasts on humans, but not on their blood. A frequent visitor is Nadja’s new friend, “Jenna” (Beanie Feldstein), a student at a nearby community college. She loves LARPing, boys, and art history, and for some reason has been rather confused lately as to why it is she so ravenously craves the flesh of the living.

After an unexpected visit from their dark lord and leader, Baron Afanas, the vampires are reminded of what they were initially tasked with upon their arrival in Staten Island over a hundred years ago – total and complete domination of the New World. But what exactly is the best way to go about achieving said domination? Our vérité camera crew follows along as the vampires set out to answer this query.

“The show takes place in the same universe as the movie but these are all new characters,” said Clement.

The series, which is exec produced by Clement, Waititi, Paul Simms, Scott Rudin, Garrett Basch and Eli Bush, premieres on Wednesday, March 27 at 10 PM on FX.