Hannibal showrunner gives promising update on season 4, saying "everybody wants to return," including Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy

(Image credit: NBC)

10 years after the NBC series ended rather abruptly, Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller has given a promising update on season 4, saying the whole cast are ready to come back.

"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," said Fuller on The Horror Queers Podcast.

Based on the Hannibal book series by Thomas Harris, the show starred Mikkelsen as psychiatrist and cannibal Hannibal Lecter, and Dancy as FBI profiler Will Graham. The show ran for three seasons, with the third ending on a dramatic cliffhanger. After battling their shared nemesis, Will and Hannibal fell off the side of a cliff, leaving their survival ambiguous. But in a post-credits scene, it is suggested that the two are still alive and partaking in cannibalistic rituals.

Fuller says he already knows "exactly what season 4 of Hannibal is," adding, "I was frustrated with season 1. That felt a little more like traditional television to me… 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.'"

Despite Hannibal season 3 being Fuller's personal favourite, the third installment saw ratings drop significantly, but it does hold the highest Rotten Tomatoes score shared with season 2. However, Fuller says, "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." The showrunner has also spoken about wanting to make the next season into a Silence of the Lambs adaptation.

However, there is a lot standing in the way of Fuller's plans. As well as longtime Hannibal franchise producer Martha de Laurentiis' passing, which Fuller says makes things "a little complicated," rights to the original story are "in the process of reversion" to author Harris. "MGM/Amazon has some," explained Fuller. "They’re all being navigated in a way that is going to be a little trickier to iron out now."

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.

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