Following a surprisingly upbeat panel at Comic Con, the producers of Hannibal have offered a fascinating insight into the future of the current season – giving us an intriguing first look at Richard Armitage’s newly realised portrayal of Francis Dolarhyde in the process.
The 5 minute digital exclusive shows the birth of the Red Dragon – Dolarhyde’s wicked alter-ego, based on a prolific William Blake painting. The visual also gives us a glimpse at the grotesque dentures that Dolarhyde famously dons to become ‘The Tooth Fairy’ – a brutal serial killer who catches the attention of empathetic FBI agent, Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). This is the first time that Dolarhyde has been portrayed on screen, since Ralph Fiennes took on the role in 2002’s Red Dragon.
The main villain of the piece is still around though, as the clip also catches sight of a newly captured Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikklesen) – who it would seem is no less manipulative behind the glassy walls of his prison cell. The video also features promised cameos by Star Trek actor, Zachary Quinto (who appears to be an ex-patient of Dr. Lecter) and True Blood‘s Rutina Wesley as Reba McClane – the blinded love interest of Dolarhyde.
The horror series, created by Bryan Fuller and based on the acclaimed novels by Thomas Harris, was recently cancelled by NBC and has since been rejected by fan-anticipated saviours, Amazon and Netflix. There could still be hope though according to Fuller, who has suggested that the series could continue in the form of a feature film:
“We are still looking [at options], we don’t have a lot of answers, and we’re looking at the possibility of a feature,” Fuller said at the recent Comic Con panel.
Hannibal is currently being broadcast in the UK on Sky Living, airing on Wednesday nights at 10pm.
Watch the breathtaking new clip, below.
