https://www.youtube.com/embed/loOgfXNs-VI
The Comic-Con International panel for NBC's Hannibal mirrored the show's very existence: Only about two-thirds full, but what it lacked in numbers it made up for with fan devotion. The recently cancelled weekly art film has been doing unbelievably intense horror on network TV for two and a half seasons now, but the big wigs have said three will be the end... At least on conventional broadcast outlets.
Fans hoping for a grand announcement about Hannibal''s resurrection didn't quite get that, but it was clear that the entire panel—composed of Hugh Dancy, show creator Bryan Fuller, Richard Armitage and producer Martha De Laurentiis—all want to keep the story alive in some form. Fuller would only go so far as to say "We're cancelled on NBC," before adding that they're still trying to find a home for America's favorite cannibal, and even voiced a desire to make a feature film. "It's not over in the sense that we were fully committed and living this thing for several years," said Dancy. "That's still true."
It was an emotional panel for fans, with several of them getting choked up at the microphone during the Q&A portion. Dancy and Fuller said that if they had to pick a death on the show to be staged as, Dancy would pick the human cello and Fuller would be the man in the tree. They discussed their most influential works of fine art (Fuller, unsurprisingly, said Francis Bacon), how decisions are made about the remarkable food presentation (apparently food stylist Janice Poon has almost full creative control and will even contribute dialogue for meal-related scenes), and how they balance plot advancement with all that "pretentious dialogue" (a question to which either Dancy or Fuller responded "Plot?").
Having a cast on stage to talk about their recently cancelled show feels kind of weird, but all the panelists (each one wearing a crown of flowers) took care to thank the Fannibals for their deep devotion and promised to keep looking for ways to continue the story. Fuller, wearing a Star Wars blazer with his floral headpiece and a homemade scarf given to him by a Fannibal in attendance, called the fan commitment "the best hug you can imagine" and Armitage—new to the gang—talked about how impressed and moved he's been by the sense of community surrounding the show.
Speaking of Armitage, he will be featured heavily in what could be the final episodes of show, coming on as Francis Dolarhyde, aka The Red Dragon, complete with busted dentures, full body tattoos, cleft palette scar, and a grab bag of sexual perversions. And about those perversions, two fans took time at the mic to thank Fuller for not writing rape stories into Hannibal, and he assured the crowd that despite the sexual nature of the violence inherent in Dolarhyde's character, this was not turning into a show about assaulting women, and even called out writing rape into TV shows as "shallow and lazy" unless enough time can be devoted to the topic to fully explore the implications of the act on everyone involved. Fuller understands that rape isn't a subplot. It’s an actual plot. And you shouldn't just toss it around like an extra-aggressive insult for effect.
You're one of the good ones, Fuller, and we really hope we haven't seen the last of your Hannibal.
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