"It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again"...

At the end of Thomas Harris’ novel Hannibal, we get a wrapped up ending of sorts – and a much better ending than we received in the film version – and we thought that was the end of the story of the cannibalistic serial killer that had grabbed hold of the hearts and minds of so many.  Then came the novel and subsequent film adaptation Hannibal Rising, which explored the past that had only been hinted at in Hannibal.  All in all, there was no reason to believe that more could be said about him.

Enter French film studio Gaumont, who is setting up Gaumont International Television, a production company that will be based in Los Angeles. They only have two productions announced so far, but one of them is to be a story of Lecter’s early days, set between the novels/films Hannibal Rising and Red Dragon (the novel was originally filmed in 1986 as Manhunter).

The press release doesn’t say much about the project, but it does mention that it will “center on Lecter’s early days, namely his time going head-to-head with FBI agent Will Graham.”  So we could be in for a fascinating police procedural involving one of the most popular film characters of all time, or it could wind up being nothing more that a case of flogging a dead horse. While it sounds good in theory, are we ready for more stories about Hannibal?  One thing the program has going for it is that it is being written by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Heroes), so I might take that as a very good sign.

Lecter was first portrayed by Brian Cox (X2, Super Troopers) in Manhunter, and then most famously by Anthony Hopkins. Gaspard Ulliel played him in Hannibal Rising, which traced his early life from his life as a noble, being taken prisoner by rogue Nazis, attending medical school and finally taking his revenge on those Nazis who murdered his sister and kept him captive.  In the novel Red Dragon, FBI agent Will Graham (played by William Peterson (CSI, Young Guns 2) in Manhunter, and Edward Norton (American History X, The Incredible Hulk) in Red Dragon had been hospitalized by Lecter when he realised that the latter was responsible for the disappearance of several prominent members of society.  Their relationship is a rocky one, as Graham has to go where Lector is locked up to gain information about a killer referred to only as “The Tooth Fairy”.  A story about their early days could be quite an interesting watch, and I hope they don’t mess with the characters too much.

/Film

See also:

Why I won't be watching the Hannibal TV Series

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