Hannibal Creator Reveals Whether Hugh Dancy Will Join Silence of the Lambs TV Show
Bryan Fuller finally tackles the Hannibal fandom’s burning question: if his long-gestating Silence of the Lambs TV series gets the green light, he wants Hugh Dancy back as Will Graham despite rights tangles, hinting Dancy is inseparable from that world.
Hannibal fans, Bryan Fuller finally said the quiet part out loud: if he ever gets to make his Silence of the Lambs series, he does not want to do it without Hugh Dancy. Yes, even though Will Graham is not in the original Silence of the Lambs story. And yes, he knows that makes things... complicated.
Where things actually stand
Fuller is still trying to lock down the rights to The Silence of the Lambs, and he says the process has gotten a bit more tangled over time. On The Playlist's Discourse podcast, he made it clear nothing can move forward until the legal stuff gets sorted. Paperwork first, casting dreams later. He even called the show a 'wishlist item' at this point. So, temper expectations.
Who comes back if it happens
- Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter
- Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford
- Zendaya has been floated as Clarice Starling
- Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, even though Will is not in the Silence of the Lambs novel
About Will Graham being in a Silence of the Lambs show
This is where Fuller gets bold. He flat-out says he cannot imagine splitting Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen after the world they built together over the last decade. That means if the series happens, he is ready to reshape Clarice's story to fold Will in. Purists may twitch, but this is very much his Lecter universe, not a word-for-word redo of the book.
'I can't imagine lifting and separating those two characters and those two actors.'
'I met with Hugh and Mads last night... and it was so wonderful to see these two guys together and their brotherhood and fraternity. I was like, we've got to get the band back together.'
That 'met with Hugh and Mads last night' bit is exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes detail that tells you where his heart is. The priority is the chemistry that made Hannibal work, even if it means bending the source material to keep the duet going.
Bottom line: the show is not greenlit, the rights are still in limbo, and Fuller knows it. But if the stars align, expect a full-on Hannibal reunion with Clarice stepping into their orbit. Which, honestly, sounds like the most Fuller version of Silence of the Lambs imaginable.