It's been close to four years since NBC cancelled Hannibal after three excellent seasons, but the series' fans haven't given up hope that it will somehow return. In a time when TV shows of the past are frequently resurrected, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that Hannibal could return; it also helps that everyone involved in the series is eager to get back to work.
While speaking with Bloody Disgusting recently, Mads Mikkelsen revealed that he thinks "there's always new hope" for a revival of Hannibal. The actor isn't aware of all of the details, but he does say that Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller is still working on ways to bring the series back.
I haven’t heard anything specific. I know Bryan is still working on some ideas where we can find a new home for this. I also have a strong feeling that everybody who was involved in it would gladly pick up the glove again if that happens. I don’t know where they looked. That is above my paycheck, but I know they’ve been talking to different studios.
If the series does return (severed fingers crossed), Mikkelsen confirmed that it will likely dive into the SILENCE OF THE LAMBS story. "I know that [Fuller] was working to get the rights to Silence of the Lambs so he could get in there and use some of those characters for his own universe," Mikkelsen said. "I have a hunch that might be where we’re going." As Hugh Dancy's character of Will Graham doesn't have much of a presence in that particular Hannibal story, the story might not unfold exactly as we would expect, but Dancy has previously said that Fuller had "envisioned taking some elements of that novel and reworking it through the Will-Hannibal relationship." Once again, I'm not about to hold my breath for Hannibal's return, but it would be deliciously magnificent.