Director Bryan Fuller and some of the cast members of the hit show Hannibal were at this years Comic-Con where they had a very revealing interview with IGN. This interview is what we were waiting for to answer some of the burning questions we were left with after the dramatic ending of season 2. Note: The rest of this post contains serious spoilers. If you have not seen season 1 and 2, then now is your chance to catch-up. Why not check-out our 5 reasons why you should watch this show.
Bryan Fuller is awesome. He was extremely open in this interview, and we get a pretty good idea on direction, story and new characters heading our way in season 3. We are pretty darn excited for season 3, check out all the details below: Unfortunately there’s no premiere date yet for season 3. Our best guess is late 2014, early 2015.
Here’s Hannibal Season 3 – Everything You Need To Know:
1. Season 3 mixes the ‘Hannibal Rising’ and ‘Hannibal’ Books
Fuller already told us that season 3 will be Hannibal on the run. Fuller doesn’t intend to begin adapting Red Dragon, the first novel in Thomas Harris’ trilogy, until Season 4, which leaves one more season of invented prequel to go. Season 1 saw the development of Will and Hannibal’s bromance. Season 2 was the messy break-up. And in Season 3, Hannibal will be a spurned lover, on the run from both Will and the FBI. Assuming Will is alive. Fuller also mentioned that:
The first episode of season three will “essentially function as a new pilot for a new series because everything’s different”. The plan for the third season is to take “a lot of disparate elements from the novel Hannibal Rising and the novel Hannibal and mashing them up together as part of the thrust of the season. It’s going to be fun to bastardise two novels into one sort of Frankenstein season.”
2. Hannibal’s first love gets introduced
Fuller has made no secret about his desire to introduce Lady Murasaki in Season 3. She would be the first character from the prequel, Hannibal Rising, to make an appearance. In the book (and film of the same name), Hannibal is traumatized after Nazis eat his sister Mischa in front of him and subsequently goes to live in Paris with his uncle’s Japanese wife. There she trains him in both martial arts and flower arrangement before he goes to medical school to become a doctor. On the show, we’ve heard Hannibal make reference to a sister, though he’s never told anyone much about her. It seems like we’ll be finding out more about his traumatic childhood next season.
Lady Murasaki (who was played in the film by Gong Li, pictured above) was more than just an adoptive parent to Hannibal. She became the object of his affection, and while they never consummated their feelings, there was definitely a romance of sorts there. Having her pop into Hannibal’s life again should make for some juicy drama. Will he meet up with her in Paris while on the run from the FBI? Or will she come seek him out in the U.S. when she hears what he’s been up to? We’re not exactly sure how she’ll be introduced, but we can’t wait to see how Bryan Fuller interprets this potentially fascinating character.
3. The Vergers stick around
Now that the groundwork for Mason’s thirst for revenge against Hannibal has been laid (image above), you might expect him to lay low until the show catches up to the events of that book in Season 6. Not so: Fuller has confirmed that both Vergers will remain a large part of Season 3 of Hannibal. But will Fuller continue drawing their story out through four more seasons? Or will he condense that part of the mythology and wrap it up next year?
4. Dr. Alana Bloom dead and a ghost
Caroline Dhavernas plays Dr. Alana Bloom, and from the interview above she confirmed it herself that we can now agree that she is dead. Although she will still play a role in the form of memories, visions, dreams and such. Typical Hannibal style:
“On Hannibal when you’re dead sometimes you’re more present than when you we’re alive”
5. Season 3 picks up 1 year after that final battle
Fuller confirmed that the season 3 story picks-up one year after the final episode. This means we will without a doubt see the main characters either alive or dead, and bearing the scars of that last battle with Hannibal.
6. Hannibal and Bedelia
With Hannibal barely escaping the claws of Will and Jack, we were completely shocked to see him on an airplane with none other than Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, played by Gillian Anderson. Chances are this will be the main focus of the first few episodes of season 3. We may have to wait before we get to know who lives and dies based on the ending of season 2.
7. Bryan Fuller is sick and we love it!
Asked about the gore on the show, and how they manage to get away with it, Fuller disclosed what his original plans were for the scene where Michael Verger removes his sisters uterus so that she cannot have any children. Read this:
We we’re gonna have him scoop out her uterus and put it into a corpse that had its head, arms and legs removed and was just functioning as an incubator. And raise the child this way…
What the Fuuuuu??? This is why we love this show!!!
8. New characters introduced
Fuller confirmed in the interview that some of the new characters we can expect to see in season 3 are:
i) Detective Pazzi – The italian detective. Making an appearance in episode 2:
ii) Lady Murasaki (see point 2)- Making an appearance in Episode 3:
iii) Cordell – The assistant to Michael Verger. Episode 4:
iv) Francis Dolarhyde – Whom of course is none other than the Red Dragon. Episode 8:
Wow. We’re pretty excited! Let us know what you think in the comments!
