TV Revivals: Can Bryan Fuller’s ‘Hannibal’ emerge from beyond the cliffs with a season 4, feature film?

For our second edition of our month-long TV Revivals series, we’re focusing on a show that is near and dear to our hearts in “Hannibal.” It’s a recipient of many CarterMatt Awards at the site, the acting is top-notch, and it has one of the most fantastic creative visions we’ve ever seen courtesy of Bryan Fuller and the production staff. It turned potentially-garish scenes at times into art, even if said art was still horrific in its own way.

It’s now been more than half a year since NBC chose to cancel the show, but we know that the fan base a.k.a. the Fannibals have not given up. Here’s why you should stand with them, in the event you’re not doing so already.

How it ended – Following the conclusion of the Red Dragon arc, Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) and Will (Hugh Dancy) engaged in a face-to-face that led to both of them careening off of the edge of a cliff. Sure, you can assume that they’re dead if you want … but we all ultimately know better. Death is not a fate reserved to many characters at this point; just look at all of the different things that have happened to a still-breathing Chilton so far.

Also, we would be remiss to not mention the pretty insane bonus scene, which featured Bedelia du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) being fed … her own leg? Crazy, but one of the best teases ever.

How it could continue – For the sake of “Hannibal,” answering this is obvious: With The Silence of the Lambs. The show over the years struggled to secure the rights to the Clarice Starling character, but even if they don’t have her we imagine that they could still find a way to pass along many of her attributes to a number of other characters, whether it be Alana Bloom or even at times Will himself. This Thomas Harris book has enough material to be at the very least another six-part series similar to Red Dragon, but it’s hard to be upset about the idea of it eventually becoming a movie in its own right, both similar and different to the classic with Anthony Hopkins. There is a story that could still continue beyond that, as well, if the adaptation finds enough success.

Can it be brought back? – Logistically the answer is a clear “yes.” We know that Dancy and Mikkelsen have both expressed an interest in returning, and if a season 4 lasted for six episodes (similar to what Anderson did with “The X-Files”), it would not be a huge weight on their busy schedules. Speaking of which, it could also be a little more flexible for Fuller, who has up next on the docket Starz’s “American Gods.”

The question here is just who the right suitor for the show would be. Fuller was always set to “American Gods” before another season of “Hannibal,” so any interested party would have to wait for a time. Amazon (the show’s streaming home) said “no” at first, but we wonder if the buzz around a “Gilmore Girls” or other recent revivals could convince them otherwise. We imagine that it’s also possible a feature film could be financed with the core audience’s strength as evidence. Maybe crowdfunding is there as an option if producers wish to explore it.

Maybe someday “Hannibal” will be coming back. We don’t anticipate it coming anytime soon, but the recent trend of revivals coupled with fan enthusiasm shall likely make this a contender for many years to come.