Hannibal’s creator has confirmed that the cast is ready to return for season four, but says “complicated” factors are preventing it from moving forward.
Airing from 2013 to 2015, the psychological horror series earned near-universal acclaim and a fervent cult following, with many hailing it as one of the greatest TV dramas ever made.
Despite the praise, NBC cancelled the show due to low ratings — a decision that sparked outrage from fans and critics alike. A decade later, however, calls for a revival remain relentless.
In a new interview with ScreenRant, Bryan Fuller revealed both hopeful and frustrating news about the show’s future.
“Well, it’s complicated now because [executive producer] Martha De Laurentiis died and she had a certain section of the rights, and now, Thomas Harris is trying to get the rights all under one umbrella,” Fuller explained. “And I think that’s going to take a couple of years of straightening out.”
Still, Fuller confirmed that “the entire cast wants to come back,” naming Mads Mikkelsen (Dr. Hannibal Lecter), Hugh Dancy (Will Graham), Caroline Dhavernas (Dr. Alana Bloom), Laurence Fishburne (Jack Crawford) and executive producer Katie O’Connell.
“Like everybody’s in,” he continued. “It’s just a matter of: Will the rights be able to be figured out again?”
As well as receiving acclaim for its performances, writing and horror/thriller elements, Hannibal was celebrated for the queer and erotic subtext between Lecter and Graham, who nearly kissed in the series finale.
In a 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fuller said the chemistry between Mikkelsen and Dancy inspired him to lean into those queer undertones.
“They really helped kind of leach that romance out of the page into something that was actionable that became writing dialogue that was, ‘Is Hannibal in love with me?’ and ‘Do you ache for him?’” he said. “I was just following the lead of the actors, as opposed to having a gay agenda.”
Fuller also admitted he regrets not writing a kiss scene for the characters: “There were several takes and there was never any actual lip-locking.
“But there was a lingering [in one take] where Mads’s lips parted, hovering over Will’s mouth in a way that went on… For a while. When I was watching dailies, it seemed like an eternity.”
He added: “But if I had to do it again, I might suggest to kiss and see how it played.” (We need season four, stat!)
Revisit some of Hannibal and Will’s most romantic scenes in the fan-edited video below.
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