There are some TV series that are so special, so compelling, so beloved, that even when they end, fans never give up hope there’ll be more. The wickedly gruesome Hannibal, created by Bryan Fuller, is counted among the shows that inspire that kind of ongoing passion in its fans. It’s a masterpiece of the macabre and wonderfully queer.
The series follows the complicated and sexual tension-filled relationship between serial killing cannibal psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter and FBI special investigator Will Graham, who, unaware of the doctor’s murderous proclivities, becomes his patient. Over the course of three seasons, their dynamic shifts, complicates, and, ultimately, takes on a deeply romantic element — culminating in a passionate embrace.
To say that the ending left the audience hungry to devour more of the two’s love story is an understatement. That’s in part because of the slow build of their doomed connection, one that is bathed in metaphor and subtext written by a master whose own work was inspired by his appreciation of queer filmmakers. Among them is James Whale (Bride of Frankenstein) who, because of the era in which he was making movies, had to shroud his films’ queerness . “I think for me as a storyteller, one of the things I love...is sort of the ‘decoder ring’ aspect of interpreting queer codes, as opposed to having them laid so explicitly,” Fuller shares. “Maybe it’s a factor of my age, but I kind of like the code, I like the poetry of the code.”
While speaking with Fuller about his new (and very excellent) docuseries Queer for Fear (on Shudder Sep. 30), PRIDE asked about the possibility of ever seeing the further adventures of Dr. Lecter and Graham, and his answers are, well, hopeful.
Watch Bryan Fuller discuss the future of Hannibal below.
Fuller, it may not surprise anyone, is just as keen to return to the world of Hannibal as its fans are. “I [want to see more] too, and so does Mads (Mikkelsen) and Hugh (Dancy) and Caroline (Dhavernas) and [executive producer] Katie (O’Connell), and there’s so much fun to be had. We just have to have somebody that’s interested in doing it. That’s the thing,” Fuller admits. “So absolutely, everybody still wants to do it. And, you know, never say never.”
“There’s opportunities that I can’t discuss publicly,” he shares, adding that for those worried that perhaps as the time goes on the opportunity for more Hannibal dwindles, that isn’t actually a concern. “We shouldn’t worry about time running out [for a return], because as long as folks are interested — and I think everybody’s interested — you just pick up wherever the time allows us to reenter the story,” he explains. “We’re all still kind of thinking, ‘Well, they’ll wake up one day and somebody will pick it up,’ so we’re being patient until then.”
Some things are worth the wait, more Hannibal among them. That being said, if there are any streaming services or premium cable channels out there listening: Wake up! It’s time for more Hannibal.
Queer For Fear premieres September 30 on Shudder. Watch the trailer below.
Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror - Official Trailer [HD] | A Shudder Original Serieswww.youtube.com
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