Despite his diminishing returns on the big screen – ending up with the disaster that was Hannibal Rising – Hannibal Lecter is still a potent name in the annals of movie villains. It seems that while he’s run out of steam film-wise, he may find new life on the small screen.
According to Coming Soon, French studio Gaumont has formed a new TV company called Gaumont International Television, and one of its first projects is Hannibal, which centers on the infamous serial killer. Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller has written a pilot script, which is said to focus on Lecter’s early relationship with FBI profiler Will Graham.
Anthony Hopkins famously portrayed Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon, while Edward Norton took on the role of Will Graham in the latter movie. It is believed that this series will pre-date Red Dragon. That film showed us how Graham almost accidentally captured Lecter and was nearly killed in the process. However Lecter was working with Graham before that building a profile of the murderer, allowing for a Dexter-ish set-up with Hannibal working to bring down killers, while going out murdering himself and using his position to put the FBI off his scent. Perhaps we’ll finally get to see the famed meal of fava beans and census taker’s liver!
Bryan Fuller is executive producing Hannibal with Martha De Laurentiis, who produced Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Red Dragon. Gaumont International Television is also developing a Madame Tussaud mini-series, based on the book by Michelle Moran, which centers on the illustrious French woman’s life as an artist, businesswoman, and entrenpreneur.