Hannibal Fans, Rejoice: Revival is Inevitable, Mads Mikkelsen Says 

Summary:

• The third and final season of the acclaimed Hannibal series was released in 2015
• The show was canceled because its ratings were not enough to cover the high production costs.
• Mads Mikkelsen, who played Lecter, is confident that Hannibal will get a continuation sooner or later, while the main goal is to find a home for the show.
• The show is loosely based on the books, so the potential new season could be both an original story and a continuation of the books' plot.

In 2015, the last, third season of the psychological thriller Hannibal was released. The creators planned 6 seasons that would lead Lector to the events of The Silence of the Lambs, and maybe even retell this story, but the adventures of the sophisticated cannibal came to an end much earlier than that.

Despite the delight of critics and loyal fans, Hannibal was canceled, probably because the ratings it received were not enough to pay for the obviously high cost of the show.

Mads Mikkelsen is Sure Hannibal Will Return Sooner or Later

But as it turns out, hope for a continuation is not completely lost.

Speaking to Business Insider, Mads Mikkelsen admitted that he would love to return to the role of Lecter, and showrunner Bryan Fuller even has plans to revive the series:

“It's no secret that all of us who were part of the cast and Bryan, we all want to go back. It's got to happen eventually sooner than later because we're not getting any younger, right?”

In addition, Mads said that due to such a long break, there may be a time jump in the plot, and although nothing has been decided for sure, the main goal now is to find a home for the new season of Hannibal.

Hannibal is Loosely Based on the Books

Thomas Harris wrote four novels about Hannibal Lecter, the first in 1981, the fourth in 2006.

Three of the full-length adaptations starred Anthony Hopkins, who won an Oscar for his 24 minutes of screen time in The Silence of the Lambs.

Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal is still considered by many viewers to be the greatest movie villain of all time, but for most fans of the series, Mads Mikkelsen has managed to outshine even Hopkins.

The show is a prequel to the first three novels. In 2006, Harris wrote his own prequel, but it looked further into the past and talked about Hannibal's childhood and development.

The series begins with a period of time that was very little described in the novels – the show takes Harris' characters and spins their own story with them.

It wasn't until the third season that the show picked up the story arc of the books Hannibal and Red Dragon, but they do not follow the text completely, changing some details and replacing the characters.

Perhaps the new seasons (if there are any) will become a completely original story, or maybe they will finally come close to the iconic The Silence of the Lambs, one thing is clear for sure – the fans will be thrilled in any case.

Source: Business Insider