Will Hannibal Lecter ever dine again?
Two years on from the moment NBC abruptly pulled the plug on its psychological horror series, and that question continues to keep viewers up at night. Following three seasons of arresting, visually astute television, Hannibal was yanked off the airwaves due to its low ratings, but there have been rumblings of a possible revival; earlier last month, former series showrunner Bryan Fuller (American Gods) even hinted at a potential set-up for a fourth season, which would seemingly be the lovechild of “Inception meets Angel Heart.”
Alas, the song remains the same: Hannibal is still on ice for the time being, given Fuller, who was once attached to Star Trek: Discovery over at CBS, is committing his time to the second season of American Gods. Ditto for Mads Mikkelsen, who held a role in Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One last year and is poised to explore the world of video games through Hideo Kojima’s peculiar PS4 exclusive, Death Stranding.
All hope isn’t lost, however, as according to Fuller, conversations are now taking place about possibly bringing the series back. While fielding questions from fans on Twitter, here’s what he had to say:
“Conversations couldn’t start until 2 years after the final airing of season 3. [The De Laurentiis Company] has started those conversations now. This takes time.”
We’d love to see Hannibal get a fourth season just as much as the next person would, and it’s certainly encouraging to hear that discussions are underway, but if we’re being real, it’s probably not going to happen. Never say never, but it’d be very surprising if the show ever returned. Not only is Fuller now busy with American Gods, not to mention that the rest of the cast is tied up with other stuff, too, but as we mentioned above, the numbers just weren’t there to justify keeping it on the air.
Admittedly, that’s not always the kiss of death, as we’ve seen many previously cancelled shows be revived in recent years on streaming services like Netflix, but we wouldn’t hold out hope for Hannibal to get the same treatment. Still, it’s nice to hear that those involved haven’t given up on it just yet and maybe one day, someone will realize what a brilliant show this is and get it back on our screens.