Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: hannibal

Hannibal: Bryan Fuller Offers Season 4, "Silence of the Lambs" Updates

Bryan Fuller updated on where things stand on a potential Hannibal Season 4, including the chances of adapting "The Silence of the Lambs."

When it comes to fanbases that continue to keep the faith, fans of Bryan Fuller's Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy-starring Hannibal deserve their flowers. With the cast ready to join him for a return, Fuller has mentioned in the past that he has his sights set on bestselling author Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs. The story was famously adapted by director Jonathan Demme, with 1991's Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins-starring film going on to win big at the Academy Awards. Speaking with Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast while on a promotional run for his new film, Dust Bunny, Fuller discussed how securing the rights is still in flux.

What's making the whole thing a "little trickier" is that author Thomas Harris is in the process of getting the rights, but Amazon MGM will still have a say on some rights matters. Adding to the complications was the passing of series executive producer Martha De Laurentiis in 2021. That said, Fuller still has Mikkelsen, Dancy, Lawrence Fishburne, Katie Isabelle, Caroline Dhavernas, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Aarom Abrams, and Scott Thompson on his side when it comes to revisiting the show's universe.

"Everybody wants to return. Hugh [Dancy], and Mads [Mikkelsen], definitely. But also Lawrence Fishburne, Katie Isabelle, Caroline Dhavernas, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Aaron Abrams, and Scott [Thompson] all want to come back to the story. Right now, it's a little complicated since Martha de Laurentiis' passing," Fuller explained. "The rights are in the process of reversion to Thomas Harris. MGM/Amazon has some. They're all being navigated in a way that is going to be a little trickier to iron out now. They're in process, and I keep on touching base and trying to encourage folks to get back together."

Speaking with ScreenRant during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) back in September, Fuller was asked about a possible return to the "Hannibal" universe. "My dream project is to do a limited series of 'Silence of the Lambs' with Mads and Zendaya as Clarice Starling," Fuller shared, dropping a casting idea that we're already fully supporting because seeing Mikkelsen and Zendaya in those one-on-ones would be intense. "If I could put anything out into the universe, I would put that into the universe." Fuller further elaborated on where things stand of bringing "Lambs" to the small screen.

"I've talked a little bit about wanting to do a 'The Silence of the Lambs' adaptation, which may be free of certain obligations to include Gaumont [International Television], who is the studio on 'Hannibal.' You can't copyright a performance, you know? So there are things that we're trying to figure out if we can get away with that would make it an easier path that might shake the possibilities loose of things that we might be hindered from doing at this point, given the status of the rights," he explained. Whichever direction a potential fourth season goes, Fuller explained why he wants it to be more like the third season and less like the show's opening run.

"I know exactly what season 4 of Hannibal is, and I was frustrated with season 1. That felt a little more like traditional television to me. There was a lot more 'murder mystery of the week' crime procedural kind of things. I was not necessarily drawn to that as an audience member, but I thought season 2 was better. Season 3, I was like, 'Okay, this is what we should be doing. This is what I want to be doing. This is the type of storytelling that I think the show can do,'" Fuller revealed. "And there are a lot of people who don't like season 3, and I was like, 'Well then, you really don't want a season 4, because that's it.' If you're not down with Season 3, then you're not going to be grooving on the plan for Season 4 because it's following that arc."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!