Bryan Fuller has never been shy talking about where he wants to take ‘Hannibal‘ and the panel for the show at SDCC 2014 proved to be no different. Fans of the TV adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novels are going to be getting a new direction this season. With the bloody conclusion of last season, Hannibal is on the run and we’re going to fast forward a year to where the ultimate foodie is hiding in plain sight and enjoying Italian food.
The major details that he brings up are all about the characters! We’ll see the unexpected return of a few old characters as well as the introduction of a few new ones that fans of the movies and novels will be thrilled to see! Fuller starts out with the fact that there will be a few episodes where several characters from the novels will appear.
Who is thought to be dead will we see again? No word on the central cast however, though Raul Esparza’s Frederick Chilton was shot in the face last season, we’ll see him again. Also Eddie Izzard’s Abel Gideon will pop up in a flashback and Kacey Rohl’s Abigail Hobbs will be seen again, most likely in a flashback of what she was doing during the second season.
And who will be introduced in the next season you might be asking? Actually, quite a lot which makes sense as we’re already in a new country as the show begins. As Fuller explains:
“So, in the second episode, we introduce Commander Apache, who was played by Giancarlo Giannini in the Ridley Scott film, in episode 3, we introduce Lady Murasaki and in episode 4, we introduce Cordell. There’s going to be a lot of fun Easter eggs for those who are big fans of the books, knowing that those characters are going to be leaping from the page onto their television screen.”
So the question begs, where is the FBI in all of this?
“The first half of Season 3 is FBI-light, with those characters only appearing in one episode of seven. Instead, that arc will be “all about the pursuit of Hannibal, and we kind of abandon that structure [of Seasons 1 and 2] for something close to the books.”
As for the season itself, it looks to be now being split into two which has unfortunately become a trend in shows as of late. We’ll be seeing a focus of content based off of ‘Hannibal’ and ‘Hannibal Rising’ in the first half of the season with ‘Red Dragon’ starting up in episode 8 and will most likely be the story arc that completes in Season Four.
Will we ever see ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ before this run is concluded? Well, MGM still owns the rights and hasn’t signed off on them yet. However, there is a push to make it happen now especially since the show is starting to get closer to that point in the books. If it happens, awesome! “If that doesn’t happen, we would do our own shmirly shmarly,” DeLaurentis says. Fuller adds, “We’ll tweet their email addresses if they say no. … I want to complete the story.”
I’m sure a few of our readers would get in on that e-mail chain!
To find out what other bits of information was shared at SDCC, you can watch the full coverage of the panel below!
Are you looking forward to seeing Hannibal Lecter in a new setting and not immediately being chased by the FBI? Looking forward to his take on European cuisine? Share your thoughts below!
Video credit: Hannibal
Sources: Zap 2 It, Bloody-Disgusting
