For the past five years, fans of “Hannibal” (yours truly very much included) have been rallying for the return of the Bryan Fuller-created series, cancelled by NBC after just three seasons back in 2015. Fuller and the main cast, including Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, have been as hungry for a revival as the fans are, but to date, the series is still without a home.
But along came the announcement this morning that CBS has ordered up a new television series titled “Clarice,” which will center on Clarice Starling and be set one year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs. Needless to say, the series is very much not the small screen continuation of Thomas Harris’ world that fans have spent the last several years craving.
In the wake of the announcement, “Hannibal” fans have been using #SaveHannibal to show their undying support for Fuller’s take on Harris’ world, which had plans to bring Clarice Starling into the fold going forward. Unfortunately, MGM had different plans, leading them to partner with CBS on the “Clarice” series that will have nothing to do with NBC’s “Hannibal.”
Fuller himself responded to the news on Twitter this afternoon, giving us some insight into MGM’s thinking here: “Martha (De Laurentiis) & I tried many times to work with MGM to include Clarice into our Hannibal story. They ultimately told us they had their own plans for Clarice and they didn’t need Hannibal to tell her story.“
In other words, MGM was probably never going to give Fuller and his team the rights to the Silence of the Lambs story and its main character. On the plus side, Fuller added:
“Don’t think this impacts a potential #HANNIBAL S4 as we never had Clarice rights.”
As always, if you want more “Hannibal,” keep ringing that dinner bell and keep making sure you let your voice be heard. Use #SaveHannibal on social media to do just that.
You never know who might be listening. And if we’ve learned anything in recent years, it’s that two different versions of the same world can exist together in harmony!
Martha & I tried many times to work with MGM to include Clarice into our Hannibal story. They ultimately told us they had their own plans for Clarice and they didn’t need Hannibal to tell her story. Don’t think this impacts a potential #HANNIBAL S4 as we never had Clarice rights.
— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) January 12, 2020
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