Hannibal Lecter might be one of the famous killers in movie history, but his most famous nemesis is about to get a new life on TV. CBS recently announced the development of Clarice, a The Silence of the Lambs spin-off series focusing on the life and continuing adventures of F.B.I. agent Clarice Starling, the role made famous by Jodie Foster.
While the planned series is set roughly a year after Clarice's first encounter with the face-eating psychiatrist in The Silence of the Lambs, the timeline of Thomas Harris' Hannibal adaptations has always been somewhat murky. But now, we're
The show will take place roughly a year after Clarice’s infamous encounters with Lecter in Silence, with the face-eating psychiatrist still on the run somewhere. In the wake of the recent announcement of Clarice, CBR looks back at the rest of the Hannibal Lecter timeline — both in the real world and fictional — and how it will connect to the new series.
MANHUNTER
Although it's not the most famous Hannibal film, the first film to feature the cannibalistic killer is 1986's Manhunter. Directed by Michael Mann and based on Thomas Harris’ 1981 novel Red Dragon, the film stars William Petersen as retired F.B.I. profiler Will Graham and Brian Cox as Lecter — spelled Lecktor in the movie.
Instead of Clarice, it is Graham who is tasked with picking Lecter’s brain while the notorious cannibal is incarcerated. Graham visits Lecter at his mental institution in Baltimore, much like Clarice later would, and discusses ways to capture another homicidal maniac dubbed the Tooth Fairy. This film also establishes that the sociopathic psychologist nearly killed him three years earlier while Graham was attempting to capture him.
None of the stars from Manhunter appeared in any of the other Hannibal Lecter movies, and this film more or less stands alone. The film was initially panned by critics and audiences alike but has since developed a cult following.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS TIMELINE
When Manhunter ended, Hannibal Lecter was still locked away in Maryland serving consecutive life sentences for murder. Harris returned to this dank, dark world in 1988's The Silence of the Lambs.
In 1991, that book was the basis of director Jonathan Demme's iconic The Silence of the Lambs, which went on to win several major trophies at the 1992 Academy Awards and define Hannibal in the public consciousness. In the film, Jodie Foster's young F.B.I. agent Clarice Starling is tasked with interviewing Hannibal— portrayed for the first time by Anthony Hopkins — in hopes of getting his insight on a new serial killer case. While Lecter helps Starling track down the notorious Buffalo Bill killer, he ends the film by eventually escaping from custody.
A decade later, Hopkins reprised his role in 2001's Hannibal, where the titular killer had settled down a decade later in Florence, Italy. Based on Harris’ 1999 novel of the same name, Lecter’s continued relationship with Julianne Moore's Starling, now a full F.B.I. agent. One of the doctor’s former patients — Gary Oldman's Mason Verger — gets Starling reassigned to Lecter’s case and sets off a whirlwind of events that culminate with a Lecter-Starling showdown. However, this film, like Silence, ends with Lecter ultimately walking free.
Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal were released in chronological order and could ostensibly be viewed as a loosely connected trilogy. However, Hannibal was followed up by two prequels that complicate Hannibal's cinematic timeline.
Just one year after Hannibal, Red Dragon offered another take on Harris’ 1981 book of the same name, only this time with Hopkins in the role of Lecter. Like Manhunter, the film focuses on the relationship between Will Graham — who is played by Edward Norton this go-around — and Lecter. This adaptation was more commercially and critically successful than Manhunter.
In 2006, Hollywood got its last chapter in the Hannibal Lecter movie series with the release of Hannibal Rising. Based on Harris’ 2006 novel Hannibal Rising, this prequel centers around the life and upbringing of Lecter, who is portrayed by Gaspard Ulliel. It ends with Lecter heading to the United States, where he — seemingly — will begin his killing spree.
With those prequels in mind, the chronological order to watch the Hannibal movies is Hannibal Rising, Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal.
HANNIBAL (THE SERIES)
While it's not based on any particular Hannibal novel, the most expansive, and spiritually accurate, depiction of Hannibal came with the 2013 NBC series Hannibal. Over its three-season run, the show amassed a cult following and amassed widespread critical praise. The series featured Mads Mikkelsen as Lecter in the prime of his murder spree, during which he also helped Hugh Dancy's Will Graham on several cases.
While the show's final season was partially an adaptation of Red Dragon, Hannibal incorporated elements from various movies and books across the franchise into the show, changing them to better fit the show's world. For instance, the genders of three central characters from Red Dragon — Dr. Alan Bloom, Freddy Lund and Paul Krendler — was flipped from male to female. Mason Verger, the surviving Lecter victim from Hannibal, is featured throughout the series, even though he originally only appeared after The Silence of the Lambs, which this series never fully adapted. Even though this show exists in its own continuity, it has nods and links to almost every part of the Hannibal universe