NBC’s gritty psychological horror-thriller seriesHannibalhad earned well-deserved cult status since its premiere nine years ago. Praised for striking cinematography, excellent acting, and intellectually compelling writing, it elevated the overdone crime genre into a spectacular art form. Despite Fuller’s confident vision of several seasons, the show inspired by bestselling Thomas Harris novels was cut short by the network due to low viewership. Nevertheless, it ended on a high note, with the third season’s last episode dubbed as one of the best TV series finales of all time by film critics and fans alike. With an ambiguous last scene, it left the door open for a revival, just in case.
In a 2021 interview withVulture, theHannibalactorMads Mikkelsen, who also starred as Grindelwald in the recently releasedFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, said he is still open to doing the fourth season should the opportunity arise. He further added:
“The work itself was brutal because we had long hours, with scripts coming in late. It’s TV, and what we were doing was elaborate. The texts were high-IQ texts. The monologues or the dialogues were always about fine art, music. You had to learn Japanese, Hungarian, and words you had simply never heard before. And you had to do it within two hours because everything came so late. Having said that, I would love to go back. Everybody wants to go back, and if there’s only one season and we’re sure about that, he can finish it in a proper, surprising, stunning way.”
Let’s take a look at what the chances are of it going ahead after years of tireless speculations.
The Plans for Season 4
The creatorBryan Fuller, known for his work on several other cult series likeDead Like Me,Pushing Daisies,Star Trek: Discovery,andAmerican Gods, made it clear back in 2015 that he wasn’t done withHannibalyet. Starting as a prequel, the show coveredRed Dragonhalfway through the third season and was going to tackleThe Silence of the Lambsstory arc next. There were talks of adaptation in the form of miniseries or a feature film as an addition to the original series, none of which came to fruition. It may not be easy to obtain the rights to the book now thatthe new CBS sequelClariceseized the FBI agent’s storyline.
Related:Hannibal Lecter Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and By Release Date
Despite failed negotiations with Amazon Prime, Fuller is still eager to make season four happen. He toldRolling Stoneabout his ideas for the continuation:
“I think I’ve said that season four isInceptionmeetsAngel Heart. And that means that there’s going to be considerable mind-palacing and obfuscating of reality, or at least the perception of reality. And the thing that I’m most excited about is, because there’s going to be such a mental landscape to explore, that means actors who play characters who have previously died can manifest in the mess of Will Graham’s brain.”
He also recently stated that he regrets not adding a kissing scene with Hannibal and Will in the finale as originally planned. Perhaps the romantic twist to their intense relationship could be explored in the next season.
Will Netflix Save Hannibal?
Following the show’s popularity spike on Netflix, since it was added to the streaming service’s vast content selection in June 2020, rumours have emerged about its renewal. Reportedly, Netflix expressed interest in picking it up. Although this has not yet been officially confirmed, it is not an unlikely scenario. Mikkelsen also gave a hint on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, saying thatHannibal"has found a new home on Netflix, the talks have been revitalized." There had been talks of bringing the show to Netflix in the past. However, this was not possible while Amazon Prime still owned the rights to the first three seasons. Now that there’s nothing in the way, the fans might just be rewarded for their long wait. With most of the original cast on board, there is little to worry about in terms of quality.
If there were any concerns about the time gap, Fuller reassures us that he has it all figured out, saying,
“Whatever’s going on in Will Graham’s head and with his perception of reality and morality, it feels like however long it is before we get to dive back into the toy box, there is a narrative rationale for what could’ve happened in that period. So I don’t panic like we’re running out of time. I don’t feel like there is a calendar deadline for when we can return and at what point we can no longer return.”
Related:Hannibal Creator Regrets Not Exploring a Romantic Connection Between the Show’s Leads
This wouldn’t be the first time Netflix saved a cancelled series. They had previously taken overThe Killing,Lucifer,Black Mirror,andArrested Development. There may even be a potential for more than one season. Fingers crossed.
