"Hannibal" is a bloody piece of television week in, week out, but few episodes were as drenched in the stuff as the second season finale. Five characters entered, one character remained: the titular serial killer (Mads Mikkelsen) was last seen alive and well, while four characters- Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) and Abigail Hobbs (Kacey Rohl)- ended the finale with some form of massive physical trauma.
Now, in preparation for the third season, showrunner Brian Fuller has begun to reveal just where NBC's cannibal is headed next. In an interview with TVLine, Fuller refuses to dish on who's still alive and who's not, but describes the last scene of the finale (in which Hannibal flees to France) as the first scene of the third season.
Fuller says the third season premiere will be all about that fateful plane ride- how Hannibal got there, and how he ended up with Dr. Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) as his seatmate. That premiere will essentially function as "a new pilot for a new series," given the massive changes Fuller has planned.
Later, in an interview with TV Guide, Fuller drops a few more details about later episodes of "Hannibal's" third season. The episodes will take pieces from both "Hannibal" and "Hannibal Rising," the two most recent books in author Thomas Harris' "Hannibal" series.
"Hannibal" (the novel) follows the killer's relationship with FBI agent Clarice Starling (who has yet to appear on the show), while "Hannibal Rising" is a prequel, detailing the origins of Hannibal Lecter's serial killer tendencies.
Fuller asserts he will "bastardize two novels into one sort of Frankenstein season," and will provide significant changes to the backstory detailed in "Rising." That's probably for the best, given that neither the prequel or its film adaptation were particularly well-recieved by Hannibal Lecter fans. The characters of Lady Murasaki (Hannibal's Japanese aunt) and Francis Dolarhyde (a serial killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy") will both appear next season.
Fuller mentioned to Collider that he has plans for legendary musician David Bowie to appear on the series, although Bowie's packed schedule may keep Fuller's plans from becoming reality. Still, it's hard to deny that Bowie's larger-than-life persona would be a terrific fit with Mikkelsen's subdued serial killer.
The third season of "Hannibal" has no set premiere date, but is expected sometime in late 2014/early 2015.
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