“A Bit Messy Right Now”

Based on Thomas Harris’ novel franchise, the NBC series largely served as a prequel in exploring the relationship between its titular forensic psychiatrist, who is also secretly a cannibalistic serial killer, and troubled-yet-brilliant FBI profiler, Will Graham. Though garnering near-universal acclaim through its run, the show’s underwhelming ratings led to its cancellation after season 3, though Fuller has remained dedicated to bringing it back for more.

Now, in an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan on the Saturn Awards red carpet, Bryan Fuller was asked for an update on Hannibal season 4’s progress. The creator reaffirmed that the show’s future is still in limbo due to its complicated rights situation, as “Thomas Harris is trying to corral them back underneath the same umbrella,” given they’ve been split up for so long.

However, Fuller indicated that the current issue for Harris is “trying to get Clarice back with Hannibal,” wanting to have “everything under his purview” to make all future adaptations much smoother to develop. Saying that “all of that is in situ,” Fuller concluded that it’s “a bit messy right now,” but refused to fully close the door on bringing the show back for more.

While getting studio interest in reviving the series was once the problem, Fuller had previously explained in late 2025 that the rights to the Hannibal franchise were the biggest problem behind making season 4, particularly after the passing of Matha De Laurentiis, who had been an executive producer going back to the 2001 sequel. However, his previous comments also pointed to Amazon MGM Studios’ ownership of The Silence of the Lambs rights being one of the other big hurdles.

With him pointing to the character of Clarice Starling being the current reason for Hannibal season 4’s delay, that would still indicate that Fuller is looking to bring the show back by adapting the 1988 novel. The creator himself previously told ScreenRant that Zendaya was his dream casting for the iconic character, while also looking to bring back the rest of the original show’s cast.

Though adapting Silence of the Lambs would lead to Hugh Dancy’s Will having a much smaller role in a potential Hannibal season 4, as he didn’t appear in any novels past Red Dragon, Fuller and his writing team have already showcased ways in which melding different book narratives together can see Will and Clarice share the screen together. With season 3, in particular, adapting Red Dragon, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising all in one seamless season, season 4 could find narrative room to have Will work with Clarice.

As Harris looks to bring all of the rights under one banner for future projects, what’s currently unclear is where he and Fuller will look to bring Hannibal season 4. Should they elect to keep working with Amazon MGM, that would give them the chance to use Prime Video as a springboard to bring the show back to an international audience. However, with their prior history at NBC, they may also look to collaborate with Peacock.

Given The Silence of the Lambs is celebrating a major milestone this year with its 35th anniversary, the rights situation may extend a little further with Orion Pictures, owned by Amazon MGM, re-releasing the film in April. However, with Fuller clearly still very dedicated to making Hannibal season 4, and staying apprised of Harris’ efforts to regain all of the rights to his works, fans of the series should not give up hope yet of the revival getting off the ground.