11 Years Later, Mads Mikkelsen’s Psychological Thriller Masterpiece Still Deserves a Comeback

Mads Mikkelsen has carved out a nice niche for himself throughout his career, usually playing somewhat unconventional villains or antiheroes rather than traditional protagonists or even run-of-the-mill bad guys. For instance, he appeared on the radar of many moviegoers when he was cast as Le Chiffre in 2006’s Casino Royale, giving the start of Daniel Craig’s run as 007 a fantastic Bond villain to work with. In the years that followed, Mikkelsen went on to appear in other huge franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones.

However, there has been one Mads Mikkelsen project that has stuck with me. The three-season psychological thriller ended with far more narrative potential than it was able to fulfill. While technically canceled, it was at least given the chance to provide a satisfying ending for those who had been tuning in. On the other hand, just because it was satisfying doesn’t necessarily mean it was complete. With TV shows being revived left, right, and center at the moment, I think the time is right for Mikkelsen to finally return to what I still believe is his finest role and be permitted to finish what he started.

NBC’s ‘Hannibal’ Series Still Needs a Season 4

Hannibal is a unique entry into the psychological thriller franchise that began with Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel, The Silence of the Lambs. Adapted into the Anthony Hopkins movie in 1991, the book was also drastically reimagined by NBC in the 2010s. Led by Mikkelsen, Hannibal serves as what can only be described as a standalone prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, albeit one that exists in its own isolated continuity. The show focuses on the iconic cannibal while he’s still a practicing psychologist, before he was discovered to have a taste for murder and human flesh.

Created and developed by Bryan Fuller, Hannibal aired on NBC between 2013 and 2015. After 39 episodes spread over three seasons, Fuller and company were forced to wrap things up sooner than intended. Considering the difficulty of the task, Hannibal actually feels like it has an intentional series finale. That said, without providing spoilers for those who haven’t seen it, Season 3’s farewell effort also leaves the fate of its main character incredibly ambiguous. This way, if NBC ever decides to revive Hannibal, the possibility remains to pick up roughly where Season 3 left off. At this point, the passing of over a decade would need to be accounted for in-universe, but I’m sure that would be a very achievable task.

Why a ‘Hannibal’ Revival at NBC Might Be Tricky

In many ways, Hannibal was ahead of its time. Its streaming-esque season length and narrative-dense structure are something that’s incredibly commonplace in the current era of TV. Furthermore, the taste for crime thrillers hasn’t gone anywhere since Hannibal ended. If anything, it’s intensified. So, the series actually continues to find new audiences even now. All that being said, the show stuck out like a sore thumb on NBC. If it aired on something like HBO, it would have fit right in.

However, something so dark, graphic, and generally macabre wasn’t something NBC generally involved itself with. Even now, it’s a rarity. Instead, the network tends to busy itself with crime procedurals and, if you’ll pardon the pun, more digestible content. Hannibal really pushed the boundaries of what NBC is known for, and then some. It just doesn’t fit the brand, so a revival on another network or with a streaming service other than the NBC-owned Peacock would be necessary. Legally, that could get pretty complicated.

Plus, Mikkelsen is an even bigger star now than he was when Hannibal ended in 2015. As such, his salary would inevitably be quite high. Big-budget TV productions are certainly not uncommon in the 2020s, but it’s a big gamble for a series that has been off the air for over a decade and is barely more than a cult classic at this point. Pair all this with the fact that Hannibal was always dancing around rights issues when it came to which characters and storylines from the source material could be used in the show, and it becomes even more understandable that Season 4 remains little more than a pipe dream.

Release Date

2013 – 2015-00-00

Network

NBC