Hannibal season 4: Why fans shouldn't get their hopes up for a fourth instalment

As April 4, 2023, marked the tenth anniversary of one of the finest psychological horror-thriller series, fans could not help but wonder if there would be a Hannibal Season 4 any time in the near future. After the abrupt discontinuation of the show, it took viewers some time to accept that Hannibal had come to an end with the Season 3 cliffhanger - something that was questioned again on the ten-year mark of the series' debut.

However, Hugh Dancy has already spoken on the topic in a Collider exclusive, saying that it all boiled down to cost issues with the production if a Hannibal Season 4 were to happen.

NBC's Hannibal has been developed for the screen by Bryan Fuller based on Characters from Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.

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There may never be a Hannibal Season 4 - Reasons and details explored

Only a few shows have dared to tread into the treacherous waters of the genre of psychological horror and out of the few, Hannibal is one which has kept viewers on the edge of their seats through its three seasons.

Following the release of the third season on June 4, 2015, NBC canceled the series after talks with streaming giants such as Amazon Video and Netflix for a possible renewal. It was officially discontinued on June 22, 2015.

In a Law & Order exclusive with Collider's Christina Radish in January this year, Hugh Dancy spoke about the return of Hannibal for a fourth season, saying:

“We keep saying, when we get asked, “Oh, we’d love to do it,” which is true. Maybe it’ll take one of us to say, “I will absolutely never do a fourth season of Hannibal," but that would be a lie.”

He was also asked if he was surprised that fans were holding onto the hope of Hannibal Season 4 and his thoughts on why there has not been a fourth season yet. In response, Dancy answered:

“I’m not exactly surprised because essentially, first and foremost, somebody has to write a fairly sizable check. I’m not talking about me being paid. I’m talking about the cost of making a season of television. For a while, it seemed like the streamers were gonna be everybody’s savior, in that respect, but now there’s been a cutoff there."

He continued:

"There are shows that are watched by millions of people that don’t make it past a second season. So, I have no idea what that calculation is. But I think Hannibal still falls where it always did, which is to a certain degree between two worlds. I think it’s one reason why people are so engaged by it. Probably the other reason people keep holding out hope.”

Even though Mads Mikkelsen (Dr. Hannibal Lecter) and Hugh Dancy (Will Graham) were interested in reprising their roles, the creator kept fans waiting for a Hannibal Season 4 over the years owing to a lack of streaming partners, piracy issues, low viewership and rights for the character and the story.

Hugh Dancy added in his interview that the creator has left an open end to the continuation of the series with Hannibal Season 4:

"We may literally just age out of it and the people online will start to say, “Well, actually, that might be slightly gross.” The thing is that it ended, and this is a spoiler for anybody who hasn’t seen it, in a fairly conclusive fashion. Bryan’s description of a fourth season always allowed for an almost open-ended gap, so who knows?"

However, for fans and followers who have found a reason to believe in the return of Hannibal yet again, the back and forth in moving ahead with a Hannibal Season 4 for ten years would be enough to answer their questions for the time being.