Cult hit show "Hannibal" has been renewed for a third season, and showrunner Bryan Fuller recently shared his plans for the series at the show's panel at New York City's Paley Center.
With cast members Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne, Mads Mikkelsen, and Hugh Dancy gracing the event with their presence, Fuller revealed his new plans for the thriller series, saying that he would prefer it to be comprised of six seasons.
In his official statement, Fuller explained why the original 7-season plan had been cut down to only six seasons.
"We deviated a little bit from the plan for the third season because originally it was going to be the season where Hannibal was abroad and then as we sort of started breaking that story out we realized, 'Okay, in order to make that last an entire season, we're going to have to tread water for a couple of episodes,'" the producer explained. "If we have 13 episodes, we have no business treading water. So, I thought, let's wrap 'Red Dragon' into the third season and then actually do a Red Dragon miniseries."
"Red Dragon" is known to be the first book from the "Hannibal" series that was written by Thomas Harris and was turned into a movie that featured Anthony Hopkins and Edward Norton.
Fuller also talked about where the third season will be going as it premieres on NBC in 2015 with which he described every episode as resembling a "little movie."
"What's interesting about the third season is that every episode is kind of a little movie so it's almost like the first episode is a pilot for a show that's just about Bedelia [Du Maurier] and Hannibal's relationship," the showrunner stated.
Fuller also discussed the new characters fans can look forward to seeing in season 3. These include Molly, who is expected to get married to Will Graham, and Lady Murasaki who will be portrayed by "Wolverine" actress Tao Okamoto and whose character and relationship with Hannibal will be further explored.
"Tao Okamoto, who is an amazing actress, you may know her from 'The Wolverine,' she's a young woman and we were very excited when she was interested in the role," said Fuller.
A character that fans have been highly anticipating is the adaptation of Clarice Starling from "Silence of the Lambs," previously portrayed by Jodie Foster in the 1991 film adaptation and by Julianne Moore in a sequel in 2001.
While "Hannibal" is to return to NBC for its third season in 2015, there is no official date yet for its season 3 premiere.
Fuller did post a message on his Twitter account with the titles of the first three episodes for season 3, namely "Antipasto," "Primevera" and "Secondo."
