Screw that “Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor” noise – we’ve got some real intriguing casting news for you. Michael Pitt of “Boardwalk Empire” and FUNNY GAMES fame has just joined the cast of “Hannibal” in the key role of Mason Verger!
Fans of HANNIBAL, the Thomas Harris book and Ridley Scott film, remember Verger as the unhinged patient of Dr. Hannibal Lecter who later seeks revenge against the doctor after Lecter forces him to mutilate himself. An unrecognizable Gary Oldman played the Verger character in HANNIBAL (pictured below).
Because the series is set before the events of that story, it’s unknown whether or not we’ll end up seeing Pitt wear any ultra-disgusting make-up. That said, “Hannibal” has already proven it’s not afraid to mess with timelines and plot points established by the books, so who knows where this incarnation of Verger may go?
Another interesting wrinkle: It seems as though Katharine Isabelle, who joined the series earlier a few weeks ago, will actually be playing Mason’s sister Margot. That character figured prominently in Harris’ book, but was not included in the film.