NBC’s ‘Hannibal’ season 3 spoilers: Francis Dolarhyde officially cast

Just in case you were not already excited for “Hannibal” as it is, know this: You are now going to be getting appearances aplenty by Francis Dolarhyde in at least six episodes this season.

As for who is playing the character, allow us to be a source of information there. According to a new report from TVLine, “The Hobbit” actor Richard Armitage is going to be playing the character, who is a brutal, ruthless killer who fans of the Red Dragon story should be very familiar with. Armitage will be more of the focus during the second half of the season, given that the plan may be to use the first half to focus more on Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and his fervent search for Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) throughout Europe. We heard at Comic-Con that such a relative division was going to occur.

If there was a show that you probably would want to appear on, it would be “Hannibal.” Just think about it this way: You get a chance to play roles that are problem different than anything you’ve done before, and with a great cast in a great city like Toronto. Also, you have one of the most supportive fan bases out there. While this show may inexplicably be ignored by most awards shows, that does not make it any less fantastic to watch.

There is no premiere date just yet for “Hannibal” season 3, but you better believe that we are going to keep close watch on this! We’ll have more news as it starts to come out.

If you missed some of our other recent “Hannibal” coverage, head over here to see what may be one of the most awesome teases to date from showrunner Bryan Fuller. Also, be sure to sign up right now to score some additional updates on everything we cover, and courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)