LAURENCE FISHBURNE IS IN TALKS FOR ‘HANNIBAL’ TV SHOW

There has been little buzz about the upcoming Hannibal television show. There have been cast announcements for two of the main characters and now it looks like they have added a third. It is being reported that talks have picked up and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Event Horizon) is close to signing a deal to play the character of Jack Crawford. Crawford is the head of the F.B.I. division set to track down Hannibal. Along with Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, this looks like a nice cast is forming for the show looking to get underway. David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) is set to direct the pilot episode and 13 one hour episodes are already purchased.

Synopsis: “Hannibal” – One of the most fascinating literary characters comes to life on television for the first time: psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In this new drama from Bryan Fuller (“Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”), based on the characters from Thomas Harris’ classic novels, we see where this incredible story began. Will Graham (Hugh Dancy, “The Big C”) is a gifted criminal profiler who is on the hunt for a serial killer with the FBI. Graham’s unique way of thinking gives him the astonishing ability to empathize with anyone – even psychopaths. He seems to know what makes them tick. But when the mind of the twisted killer he’s pursuing is too complicated for even Will to comprehend, he enlists the help of Dr. Lecter, one of the premier psychiatric minds in the country. Armed with the uncanny expertise of the brilliant doctor, Will and Hannibal (known as a serial killer only to the audience) form a brilliant partnership and it seems there’s no villain they can’t catch. If Will only knew… Fuller is writer and executive producer. Martha De Laurentis (“Red Dragon,” “Hannibal”), Sara Colleton (“Dexter”), Jesse Alexander (“Lost”, “Heroes”), and Katie O’Connell also serve as executive producers. David Slade is the director/executive producer for the series pilot. “Hannibal” is produced by Gaumont International Television.”

I’m still curious on how well they can pull this off with the show being picked up by NBC. Fear Itself didn’t do too good, so something of this tone is outside the norm for NBC audiences.  Hopefully with the success of similar programming like Dexter, maybe it will do ok.