NBC's psychological thriller–horror series "Hannibal" season 3 has recently come to a close and although persistent rumors of the show's cancellation continue to hound the Internet, Bryan Fuller remains positive that it is not the end of Lecter and Will's story.

In an interview with Variety, the executive producer expressed his hopes that the series would still be renewed for a fourth season. At the moment, "Hannibal" is looking at a huge hurdle, with no new distributor stepping forward with an offer to continue to show. Even the actors have been released from their contracts and have taken on roles with other television series.

Fuller, however, said that producer Martha De Laurentiis is currently investigating finance for "a feature film" and that they are preparing for "a number of scenarios."

According to Fuller, "Shows have come back years after they've been cancelled, and I'm never saying never because ... as creatively daunting as it would be to tell that fourth season of Will and Hannibal's story, I'm very excited by that challenge."

The executive producer also said that actors Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy inspire him to keep on hoping for a continuation of the story, saying he missed their collaboration and would love to "engage in it again."

Fuller previously told TV Insider that "Hannibal" could be returning for season 4, but that it would be a lot shorter than usual. He said that they could cut back the original 13 episodes to only nine or ten, if need be.

According to him, that the show may come back in "a different form" would be a great venue for them to make the adjustments, especially in compressing the episodes in a shorter storyline.

"It feels so digestible. Tightening up the story and shoring up the narrative by three episodes is exciting. It can make things tighter and move quicker," he said.

Fuller also said that there are ongoing conversations with "multiple parties" regarding possible revival of the TV series.