Every few months (or less) someone seems to ask either the show’s creator Bryan Fuller or series star Mads Mikkelsen what’s going on with their hoped-for revival of Hannibal. Eight years have gone by since NBC cancelled the television series, which was inspired by characters in novels by Thomas Harris, after its third season, but Fuller, Mikkelsen, and fellow star Hugh Dancy have always let it be known that they’re hoping to reunite to make a fourth season at a new home. Fuller has also been open about the fact that he would like to make an adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, with Zendaya taking on the role of Clarice Starling – and during a recent interview, he confirmed that his plan would be to work Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham character into the story, even though he’s absent from the novel. (Will Graham is only featured in one Thomas Harris novel, Red Dragon.)
Hannibal TV Series
Hannibal focused on the relationship between FBI special investigator Will Graham (Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mikkelsen), a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham’s most cunning enemy and at the same time, the only person who can understand him. Mikkelsen and Dancy were joined in the cast by Caroline Dhavernas, Hettienne Park, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, and Gillian Anderson. Fuller executive produced Hannibal with Martha De Laurentiis, Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee, Katie O’Connell, Elisa Roth, Sara Colleton, David Slade, Chris Brancato, Jesse Alexander, Michael Rymer, and Steve Lightfoot. The writers on the show included Channel Zero creator Nick Antosca and Child’s Play / Chucky franchise mastermind Don Mancini.
The Silence of the Lambs
During an interview on The Playlist’s Discourse podcast, Fuller said that he’s working to secure the rights to The Silence of the Lambs so he’ll be able to make the Hannibal season 4 that he envisions. He has previously explained that Hannibal, which was made by Dino de Laurentiis Company, Living Dead Guy Productions, AXN Original Productions, Gaumont International Television, and Chiswick Productions, didn’t cover the events of The Silence of the Lambs because “Silence of the Lambs is owned by MGM. What happened early on and why there was sort of a sticking point for us with the Clarice rights is that MGM was originally working on a deal with Martha De Laurentiis that had everything in one package, and then Gaumont came along and offered Martha a significantly greater deal that MGM couldn’t match. So there’s been a little bit of animosity between the studios because MGM’s like, ‘Hey, you were gonna do it with us’, and she was like, ‘Yeah, but you didn’t give me the better deal’, and they were kind of upset about that. So that’s why it’s been sort of a sticking point to try to get the Clarice rights.” The issue isn’t ironed out yet, but Fuller said, “It’s getting ironed out.“
When asked if Will Graham would be included in his adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, Fuller answered (with thanks to Coming Soon for the transcription), “I can’t imagine lifting and separating those two characters and those two actors. I met with Hugh and Mads last night… and it was so wonderful to see these two guys together and their brotherhood and fraternity. I was like, we’ve got to get the band back together.“
Are you glad to hear that Bryan Fuller will be working Will Graham into the story of The Silence of the Lambs if he gets the chance to turn that novel into Hannibal season 4? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
