Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller wants to do The Silence of the Lambs with Zendaya as Clarice

Every few months, someone seems to ask either the show’s creator Bryan Fuller or series star Mads Mikkelsen what’s going on with their hoped-for revival of Hannibal. Eight years have gone by since NBC cancelled the television series, which was inspired by characters in novels by Thomas Harris, after its third season, but Fuller, Mikkelsen, and fellow star Hugh Dancy have always let it be known that they’re hoping to reunite to make a fourth season at a new home. Now, Fuller has revealed exactly what he would want to do if he got the chance to make more Hannibal: an adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, with Zendaya taking on the role of Clarice Starling!

Hannibal focused on the relationship between FBI special investigator Will Graham (Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mikkelsen), a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham’s most cunning enemy and at the same time, the only person who can understand him. Mikkelsen and Dancy were joined in the cast by Caroline Dhavernas, Hettienne Park, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, and Gillian Anderson. Fuller executive produced Hannibal with Martha De Laurentiis, Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee, Katie O’Connell, Elisa Roth, Sara Colleton, David Slade, Chris Brancato, Jesse Alexander, Michael Rymer, and Steve Lightfoot. The writers on the show included Channel Zero creator Nick Antosca and Child’s Play / Chucky franchise mastermind Don Mancini.

Fuller has previously explained that Hannibal, which was made by Dino de Laurentiis Company, Living Dead Guy Productions, AXN Original Productions, Gaumont International Television, and Chiswick Productions, didn’t cover the events of The Silence of the Lambs because “Silence of the Lambs is owned by MGM. What happened early on and why there was sort of a sticking point for us with the Clarice rights is that MGM was originally working on a deal with Martha De Laurentiis that had everything in one package, and then Gaumont came along and offered Martha a significantly greater deal that MGM couldn’t match. So there’s been a little bit of animosity between the studios because MGM’s like, ‘Hey, you were gonna do it with us’, and she was like, ‘Yeah, but you didn’t give me the better deal’, and they were kind of upset about that. So that’s why it’s been sort of a sticking point to try to get the Clarice rights.”

Speaking with Screen Rant, Fuller said that his dream version of Hannibal “season 4” would see those rights issues being worked out. He told them, “My dream project is to do a limited series of Silence of the Lambs with Mads and Zendaya as Clarice Starling. If I could put anything out into the universe, I would put that into the universe.“

Clarice Starling was played by Jodie Foster in the 1991 film version of The Silence of the Lambs, Julianne Moore in the 2001 sequel Hannibal, and Rebecca Breeds in the short-lived 2021 CBS TV series Clarice.

Would you like to see Bryan Fuller’s version of The Silence of the Lambs, with Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter and Zendaya as Clarice Starling? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

The post Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller wants to do The Silence of the Lambs with Zendaya as Clarice appeared first on JoBlo.