Bryan Fuller Offers Fresh Hope For a HANNIBAL Season 4 Revival
Fans of Bryan Fuller’s cult favorite series Hannibal have never stopped craving more, and Fuller just fed that appetite with an encouraging new update.
During an appearance on the Horror Queers podcast while promoting his upcoming film Dust Bunny, he opened up about where things stand with a possible Season 4 and why the path forward is trickier than it looks.
Fuller said that the creative team is still united and eager to return to the world of Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham.
“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. Right now, it’s a little complicated since Martha de Laurentiis‘ passing.
“The rights are in the process of reversion to Thomas Harris. MGM/Amazon has some. They’re all being navigated in a way that is going to be a little trickier to iron out now. They’re in process, and I keep on touching base and trying to encourage folks to get back together.”
So the desire is there but the rights situation is a messy puzzle. With different entities holding different pieces, the series’ return depends on how smoothly those negotiations unfold.
Even with the logistical hurdles, Fuller knows exactly what he wants to do next in the story.
“I’ve talked a little bit about wanting to do a The Silence of the Lambs adaptation, which may be free of certain obligations to include Gaumont [International Television], who is the studio on Hannibal.
“You can’t copyright a performance, you know? So there are things that we’re trying to figure out if we can get away with that would make it an easier path that might shake the possibilities loose of things that we might be hindered from doing at this point, given the status of the rights.”
Fuller has previously shared interest in crafting his own take on The Silence of the Lambs, even mentioning Zendaya as his dream Clarice Starling. While nothing is confirmed, it suggests he wants to push the story into bold and exciting new territory.
He also reflected on the creative arc of the show so far and how that shapes what comes next.
“I know exactly what season 4 of Hannibal is, and I was frustrated with Season 1. That felt a little more like traditional television to me. There was a lot more ‘murder mystery of the week’ crime procedural kind of things.
“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.
“And there are a lot of people who don’t like Season 3, and I was like, ‘Well then, you really don’t want a Season 4, because that’s it.’ 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.”
Season 3’s surreal and operatic energy clearly represents Fuller’s ideal version of the show and would serve as the creative foundation for what comes next.
Fuller has been keeping the flame alive for a revival ever since NBC cancelled the show in 2015. Fans have remained incredibly loyal, and the cast’s enthusiasm only strengthens the possibility that the story of Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham isn’t finished yet.
Fuller and Mads Mikkelsen are also reuniting next month for Dust Bunny, which should delight anyone who has missed seeing them collaborate.
For now, all eyes are on the rights negotiations and what shape this next chapter could take. And as long as Fuller keeps checking in and nurturing the possibility, the dream of Hannibal Season 4 stays very much alive.