Bryan Fuller Reveals What’s Next for ‘Hannibal’ Season 4

Fans of the NBC series Hannibal are still hoping for a fourth season, and Bryan Fuller recently shared an update about the project. Speaking with The Horror Queers podcast ahead of his new film Dust Bunny, which will be in theaters on December 12, Fuller said the main obstacle is the rights to the series.

“Everybody wants to return. Hugh [Dancy], and Mads [Mikkelsen], definitely. But also Lawrence Fishburne, Katie Isabelle, Caroline Dhavernas, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Aaron Abrams, and Scott [Thompson] all want to come back to the story. Right now, it’s a little complicated since Martha de Laurentiis‘ passing,” Fuller said.

He explained that the rights are in the process of being returned to Thomas Harris, while MGM and Amazon hold some parts. “They’re all being navigated in a way that is going to be a little trickier to iron out now. They’re in process, and I keep on touching base and trying to encourage folks to get back together,” Fuller added.

Fuller also talked about how he might continue the story. He mentioned a potential adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs that could avoid some legal obstacles tied to Gaumont International Television, the studio behind Hannibal.

“You can’t copyright a performance, you know? So there are things that we’re trying to figure out if we can get away with that would make an easier path that might shake the possibilities loose of things that we might be hindered from doing at this point, given the status of the rights,” he said. Fuller has previously suggested casting Zendaya as Clarice Starling in a new adaptation.

The creator also shared his vision for Season 4. “I know exactly what season 4 of Hannibal is, and I was frustrated with Season 1. That felt a little more like traditional television to me. There was a lot more ‘murder mystery of the week’ crime procedural kind of things. I was not necessarily drawn to that as an audience member, but I thought Season 2 was better. Season 3, I was like, ‘Okay, this is what we should be doing.”

“This is what I want to be doing. This is the type of storytelling that I think the show can do. And there are a lot of people who don’t like Season 3, and I was like, ‘Well then, you really don’t want a Season 4, because that’s it.’ If you’re not down with Season 3, then you’re not going to be grooving on the plan for Season 4 because it’s following that arc,’ he said.

For now, fans will have to wait until the rights situation is resolved, but Fuller’s comments show that both he and the cast are still interested in continuing the story.

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