I have to say that I was quite entertained with Michael Pitt’s (‘Seven Psycopaths’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’) portrayal of Mason Verger in the second season of ‘Hannibal,’ so I am sad to announce that he is being replaced by Joe Anderson (‘The Grey’, ‘The Crazies’) in the upcoming season.

While major character changes are generally very noticeable, at the very least we can be glad on how Verger was left off at the end of the second season. It makes this casting change that much easier to stomach.

For those unfamiliar with the series, books, and movie, I won’t spoil it aside from saying that they left things quite easy for a character switch to actually happen. Also if you haven’t been tuning in, you really need to check out the entire first two seasons before the third airs. You won’t regret it.

While it is unclear exactly as to why Pitt will no longer be part of this season’s the cast, it sounds as if he opted out of returning. With how much I’ve enjoyed seeing him on the show, this really is a shame as I felt he truly brought the character to life.

While I said that I wouldn’t spoil the switch, Anderson released an image that actually does just that, so if you are caught up you can skip the spoiler image and head on below if you want to see a makeup test of Anderson in character!

So I do have to say that they have the look you would expect from what happened last season.

It just looks creepy.

Aside from a change in who is playing Verger, we’ll be seeing one more addition to the cast from his neck of the woods as we are introduced to his new assistant Cordell. The description of the character has him as “quiet, very intelligent and definitely creepy.” He is a man who keeps many secrets for his master and carries out a ton of dark deeds for the man so it’ll be fun to see how they play him off on the show.

What do you think of the casting change from Pitt to Anderson? Do you like Anderson’s look as the role? As this is the second series that Pitt hasn’t returned to in recent years do you think he may just want to stick to movies going forward? Share your thoughts below!

Sources: Collider, Cinema Blend