Just yesterday we shared this lengthy article about the future of “Hannibal,” which is having its third and final season split into two.
This Friday morning, we have the entire panel from last night’s San Diego Comic-Con, as well as a gag-reel shared ahead of the Season 2 home video release.
The gag reel was shared by EW, who writes that the scenes include dancing in the morgue, Mads Mikkelsen forgetting how to tie his tie, Gillian Anderson losing her microphone down her shirt, and plenty of crack-ups during the show’s signature terse dining scenes. The clip (which was briefly leaked online earlier this year) is part of “Hannibal‘s” season 2 home video package, which we can reveal will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on September 16. The disc packages will feature audio commentary with cast and crew on select episodes, a feature-length documentary on the making of episode 205, deleted scenes, and more.
In addition, here are some of the highlights from the panel shared by EW, with the video included below. The biggest surprise is that they reveal they’ve been trying to gain the rights to the character of “Clarice Starling” from MGM to “complete the story,” but aren’t having much luck.
– Eddie Izzard will return—despite being killed off: “We are writing a role for Eddie to return as a flashback,” writer-producer Bryan Fuller said.
– Raul Esparza (Dr. Chilton) will be back and plays an important role in the next season despite being shot in the face: “I told Bryan in my next season I expect to have an eye patch, hump, and parrot,” said Esparza.
– How will season 3 handle having separated Lecter and Graham? “One of the cool things [about] being a Star Wars fan is when you separate R2-D2 and C-3PO, they don’t become less interesting,” Fuller said. “We’re introducing a lot more characters from the novels, some that haven’t been in the series yet.” Those characters include: The Florentine detective Rinaldo Pazzi, Hannibal Rising lover Lady Murasaki, and, in episode 8, the Red Dragon himself, Francis Dolarhyde. Fuller hinted, as you might expect from the inclusion of Pazzi, that Hannibal is headed to Italy.
– The third season will pick up one year after the season 2 finale and will get away from the show’s procedural format: “The entire first half the of season is relatively FBI-light,” Fuller said. “It’s all about the pursuit of Hannibal. … The first episode is very much like a pilot for a new series starring Mads Mikkelsen and Gillian Anderson.”
– Hannibal producers are still trying to get the rights from MGM to include Silence of the Lambs protagonist Clarice Starling, but are not giving up. “We’re going to do a full-court press to get those rights,” Fuller said. “I want to complete the story.”
– Fuller revealed his two favorite deaths on the show: “The human cello,” he said. “And I’m a particular fan of Michael Pitt cutting off his face and feeding it to the dogs.”