Even a decade after Bryan Fuller’sHannibalwas canceled, there’s still a hunger for more. Running for three seasons and 39 episodes,Hannibalpaired Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham with Mads Mikkelsen’s titular cannibal. Boasting an ensemble cast that includes Laurence Fishburne, Caroline Dhavernas, and Gillian Anderson, it was an instant hit but never quite got the mainstream recognition it deserved.
With massive swings away from the source material like gender-swapping Dhavernas’ Dr. Bloom,Hannibalput a spin on characters from Thomas Harris’ books. Although complicated rights issues meant the team wasn’t able to use the iconic Clarice Starling or the events ofTheSilence of the Lambs, this worked inHannibal’sfavor by letting the story focus on the relationship between Hannibal and Will.
What Happened to Hannibal Season 4?
A decade after Dr. Lecter and Will Graham left audiences on a blood-soaked cliffhanger, the idea ofHannibalseason 4 refuses to go away. Fuller has spoken candidly about what he had in mind next, with rights issues hopefully resolved and a full-blownThe Silence of the Lambsadaptation. Unfortunately, after season 3’s viewership started to slip and Executive Producer Martha De Laurentiis blamed piracy, NBC canceled the series. Despite Fuller being in talks withNetflix and Amazon about continuingHannibal’s story, the cast were released from their contracts just a month later.
While that could’ve been the end of the story, Fannibals have held a candle to the idea of a revival. It’s thanks mainly to the leads and Fuller continuing to discuss one. In a February 2024 interview withBusiness Insider, Mikkelsen reignited revival talks once again, telling the outlet:
“It’s no secret that all of us who were part of the cast and Bryan, we all want to go back. It’s got to happen eventually sooner than later because we’re not getting any younger, right? But the story itself can jump, it can have that gap, which is fine. So it’s all about finding a home for it, but that’s nothing concrete out there now.”
Although he admitted he doesn’t know why it’s taking so long, it’s served as a glimmer of hope that talks are still happening. Despite Will and Hannibal’s precarious situation, a post-credit stinger included a tease with Anderson’s Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier being served her own cooked leg. Eagle-eyed fans spotted that the table was set for three, and with Du Maurier hiding a fork in her lap to presumably stab one of the guests, it looks like one ofDr. Lecter’s culinary feaststo rival season 2’s ‘Red Dinner.’
Fuller has pretty much confirmed that Hannibal and Will survived, and when asked about season 4 for the show’s ten-year anniversary, he toldNerdisthow he was still noodling ideas using the following phrase to describe season 4: “Lured, Erotic, Intimacy.” Confirming it would return to Hannibal and Will’s relationship in season 4, he also warned:
“If you didn’t like season three you probably won’t like season four but if you like the trajectory you’re going to love where it’s going spending time with it.”
Given that Dancy and Mikkelsen filmed an extended version of their final scene, couldHannibalseason 4 finally confirm that there’s some sort of romantic relationship between the pair? As fans have been speculating on the show’s homoerotic nature since the very start, season 4 could break new ground. Similarly, Fuller has also said there would be an improved focus on Katharine Isabelle’s Margot Verger and Alana Bloom, suggesting the lesbian power couple is just as important as Hannibal and Will in season 4.
Way back in 2016, Dancy describedHannibalseason 4 as a ‘full reset’ in an interview withColliderand teased that it could return in a different way. Pushed on whetherHannibalcould be turned into a movie for season 4, the man behind Will Graham said:
“I think we’d all be happy to return in some capacity, and the idea of a movie is really interesting. Obviously, one of the things that we did with the show, that Bryan did really, was very languorous, very image-rich storytelling, so how to fit that into a movie, I’m not sure.”
Unfortunately, like Mikkelsen says the cast aren’t getting any younger, the various teases and fans hopes haven’t turned into anything…yet.
2025 is the Perfect Time for Hannibal’s Return
Instead ofHannibalseason 4, fans of the source material were givenCBS’ short-livedClarice. Starring Rebecca Breeds as the titular Agent Starling,Claricetried to tell the story ofThe Silence of the Lambsbut faced the awkward problem of not being able to use Hannibal.Hannibalalways danced around the issue of Clarice, introducing its own pseudo-Starling in the form of Anna Chlumsky’s Miriam Lass. Lass always felt like an underused character who was completely absent from season 3.
As well as saying there were plans for Lass to return in season 4, Fuller promised the next season would move forward with the ‘real’ Clarice. In terms of his dream cast, Fuller mentionedPushing Daisies’ Lee Pace as Buffalo Bull and Elliot Page (previously Ellen) as a potential Clarice Starling. In the sameMandatoryinterview, Fuller said there are ‘fantastic ways’ to reimagine it 30 years later, so maybe 2045 is when fans can expect a return to this world.
The perfect time to bring backHannibalis just around the corner, with 2025 marking a decade since season 3’s cliffhanger. It’s clear there’s still an appetite from the cast and Fuller, with the latter previously saying he was trying to secure the rights toThe Silence of the Lambsfor its own miniseries. It’s unclear why that never happened, but with bothHannibalandClaricesuffering due to not being able to use some of the novel’s iconic characters, there are hopes that rights issues can be resolved and Fuller can finally move forward with his vision for howHannibalshould’ve continued all those years ago.
Even though it seems unlikely Fuller will be able to get a whole new season ofHannibaloff the ground and filmed by the finale’s 10-year anniversary on July 01, 2025, there would be no better way to celebrate this milestone than by at least confirming that a revival is on the cards. Either way, after horror fans were sadly deniedFuller’s plannedFriday the 13thprequel series, Fannibals are famished for another course ofHannibaland are more than ready to tuck into season 4. The question is, can Fuller pull it off, or willHannibalbe anotherPushing Daisiesthat was canceled too soon?
