The hypothetical fourth season of Hannibal has been spoken by showrunner Bryan Fuller several times, which he intends to use as a possible revival for the series.
As of late June to early July of 2022 talks about season four have been cropping up more and more. Some sources mention February of 2023 however it is unclear what will happen in February instead the month was simply mentioned.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
Recurring[]
Overview[]
Originally, Bryan Fuller envisioned Hannibal to consist of seven seasons (later cut down to six) however the show was cancelled by NBC at the completion of the third season. Regardless though, Fuller and the cast have expressed interest in a revival, with Fuller himself hoping to negotiate some sort of deal to get a fourth season made.
Fuller has also expressed interest in making a Silence of the Lambs miniseries, on the grounds that he can get the rights to the story and characters (which he attempted to do during the run of Hannibal).
Development[]
When asked by a fan about the future of the show in August 2015, Bryan replied to "ask again in 22 months [two years]". In August 2017, talks entered for a fourth season, although as of 2020 there has yet to be official confirmation despite a lot of the cast and crew being on board.
In 2019 Mads Mikkelsen spoke about Bryan Fuller's interest in still trying to obtain the rights to Silence of the Lambs to make a revival, although with the creation of the series Clarice it is unclear if this has affected any chance of it happening. When asked about it in January of 2020, Fuller stated that he had wanted to work Clarice into the show, but did not have the rights to do so. However he assessed this not to affect the likelihood of Season 4 happening.
Martha & I tried many times to work with MGM to include Clarice into our Hannibal story. They ultimately told us they had their own plans for Clarice and they didn't need Hannibal to tell her story. Don’t think this impacts a potential #HANNIBAL S4 as we never had Clarice rights.
— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) via Twitter on Jan 12, 2020
In 2021 Mikkelsen spoke about his optimism for a fourth season following the show's boom in popularity on the streaming service Netflix.
Plot Details[]
- The series would further explore the relationship between Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter.
- It may include elements from The Silence of the Lambs, if Fuller is able to get the rights. If this is the case, Fuller has discussed possibly doing a miniseries based on the book. This means the series could finally introduce Clarice Starling, who Fuller has been previously interested in bringing into the show either played by a black actress, or played by Elliot Page.
- It would also include more elements from the third book Hannibal which Fuller says he has yet to explore. Elements of the book was already implemented into the third season. It is likely to do with Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter being on the run, mirroring the ending of the novel Hannibal in which Hannibal and Clarice ran away together.
- Frederick Chilton would run the hospital once again. It is to be assumed that he would meet a grisly fate, a recurring feature that has happened to the character in each season of the show, although it's unknown if he would survive.
- Hannibal and Will would have been involved in a feud with Alana Bloom, who had escaped at the end of season 3 to get away from Hannibal's wrath.