What Would Have Happened Next If Hannibal Hadn't Been Canceled

Welcome to What Would Have Happened Next, a recurring feature in which TVLine breaks down the plot twists, character developments, story arcs, and major moves that would've taken place... if only your favorite TV shows hadn't been canceled.

"Hannibal" served its last meal a decade ago, but fans are still hungry for more.

Bryan Fuller's gorgeously bloody crime drama — starring Hugh Dancy as FBI profiler Will Graham and Mads Mikkelsen as serial killer Hannibal Lecter — was axed in 2015 after a three-season run on NBC, ending with a grandly operatic finale that saw Will and Hannibal plunge off a cliff together, presumably to their deaths. We still have our fingers crossed they survived, though, because we'd still love to see a Season 4 someday... and Fuller has a few ideas in mind. 

When discussing Will and Hannibal's psychosexual connection with TVLine in 2015 after the finale aired, Fuller hinted that "the idea for a [potential] Season 4 was an interesting continuation of that, as well as a subversion of it at the same time... Part of me believes that the most interesting chapter of Will Graham's story is yet to be told." 

Fuller added that Season 4's story would be "something a little more unexpected" than simply Will and Hannibal on the run together, noting that "there is a plot point in the [Thomas Harris] novel 'Hannibal' that has not been in any of the [filmed] adaptations. And so, it's important for me to protect that and hopefully be able to tell it one day."

The character of Hannibal Lecter, of course, is best known from "The Silence of the Lambs," the Oscar-winning 1991 film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins based on the Thomas Harris novel. And "Hannibal" creator Bryan Fuller is still eager to put his own spin on that iconic story.

"My dream project is to do a limited series of 'Silence of the Lambs' with Mads [Mikkelsen] and Zendaya as Clarice Starling," he declared last year. "If I could put anything out into the universe, I would put that into the universe." 

In an earlier interview, Fuller made it clear that "I think the film adaptation is a perfect film, but there are a lot of interesting nooks and crannies to explore in a television series. I hope we get to tell the story."

The problem is that the rights to 'Silence of the Lambs,' including the Clarice Starling character, have been tied up since 'Hannibal' was on the air, which meant the show couldn't feature Clarice or that storyline. But since the passing of "Hannibal" producer Martha de Laurentiis, "the rights are in the process of reversion to Thomas Harris," Fuller reports. He's still hopeful it can happen: "There are things that we're trying to figure out if we can get away with that would make it an easier path, that might shake the possibilities loose of things that we might be hindered from doing at this point, given the status of the rights."

If a Season 4 of "Hannibal" does see the light of day, they'll be getting the whole band back together, Bryan Fuller promises: "Everybody wants to return. Hugh [Dancy], and Mads [Mikkelsen], definitely. But also Laurence Fishburne, Katie Isabelle, Caroline Dhavernas, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Aaron Abrams, and Scott [Thompson] all want to come back to the story."

Mikkelsen confirmed that sentiment in 2023, saying that "there's always a chance" for more "Hannibal": "It's all about finding a home for it. Of course, we're running out of time. We can't wait 20 years. But in the next couple of years, if somebody finds a home, I think we are all ready to take it up again."

Dancy, meanwhile, told TVLine back in 2017 that "I believe that everyone is willing" to return for a "Hannibal" revival, but "my feeling is that, knock on wood, if it came around again, it wouldn't be a bad thing for it to be four or five years later." (How about 10 or 11?) Dancy added that "I know where we stood at the end of Season 3, in terms of what [Fuller] was thinking about, and it did reflect some elements of 'Silence of the Lambs'... He loves that source material, as he would tell you."

What would you want to see in another season of "Hannibal"? Join us in the comments, Fannibals, and make your voice heard.