14 DAY TRIAL // Even non-fans of the genre must know who Hannibal Lecter is. Made iconic by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the now classic “Silence of the Lambs,” the character is taken from Thomas Harris' “Red Dragon” and will live again – this time on the small screen.
After a long and successful life on the silver screen, Hannibal is getting ready for a comeback, Deadline informs.
French production company Gaumont International Television has pitched an hour-long series with Hannibal to various networks – and NBC has picked it up, says the movie-oriented e-zine.
“Written and executive produced by Bryan Fuller and executive produced by Martha De Laurentiis, the project, based on the iconic literary and film character Hannibal Lecter, was bought by NBC preemptively,” Deadline writes.
“It marks a reunion between the network and GIT CEO Katie O’Connell, who previously served as NBC head of drama,” adds the same media outlet.
For the time being, there is no script but work is well under way on it, with Gaumont keeping a 13-episode run in mind when penning it.
“Fuller is developing a script against a 13-episode commitment, meaning that the project won’t go through a pilot stage but straight to series if NBC brass like the script. The network has a short window after receiving Fuller’s script to pick it up,” Deadline further says.
This wouldn't be the first attempt to revive the initial success of “Silence of the Lambs,” since there are at least two in cinematography.
“Red Dragon” and the more recent “Hannibal Rising” didn't fare as well as the original, with the latter even getting trashed by critics for attempting to ride on the coattails of such an excellent movie in what the industry has dubbed a crazed race to make bad sequels for quick money.
For the time being, no other details on “Hannibal” are known but rest assured you'll find out more about it here, when the time comes.