The Hannibal Lecter franchise is an American media franchise based around the titular character, Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant, cannibalistic serial killer whose assistance is routinely sought out by law enforcement personnel to aide in the capture of other criminals. He originally appeared in a series of novels by Thomas Harris. The series has since expanded into film and television.
The first adaptation was the 1986 film Manhunter, which was an adaptation of Red Dragon, directed by Michael Mann. The next adaptation was 1991's The Silence of the Lambs, which was directed by Jonathan Demme and was the first film to feature Anthony Hopkins in the role of Hannibal Lecter. Silence was a success, both critically and financially, and went on to become the third film in Academy Awards history to win in all top five categories. Hopkins reprised the role in the next two films, 2001's Hannibal, a sequel directed by Ridley Scott, and 2002's Red Dragon, a prequel directed by Brett Ratner. In 2002, Hopkins revealed that he had written a screenplay for another sequel, ending with Clarice killing Lecter but it was not produced. In 2007, Hannibal Rising was released. The film is a prequel, directed by Peter Webber and starring Gaspard Ulliel as Lecter. In 2013, the TV seriesHannibal premiered. Developed by Bryan Fuller, it is not a direct adaptation, but based on characters and elements from the novels. Some male characters have become female, such as Freddy Lounds, who is renamed Fredricka "Freddie" Lounds. The series has garnered much critical acclaim since its premiere, winning the 2014 and 2015 Saturn Award for Best Network Television Series, as well as the inaugural Best Action-Thriller Television Series in 2016. In 2016, when asked if there were any sequels that he wished he could revisit, Hopkins said, "I made the mistake of doing two more and I should have only done one". In 2017, Foster reprised her role as Starling in a skit titled "Clarice Probes Hannibal Lecter About Trump's Russia Ties" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, opposite Stephen Colbert as Hannibal Lecter. In the skit, Clarice questions Lecter on his relationship with Donald Trump and what he can tell her about his relationship with Russia. In May 2012, Lifetime announced that they were developing a television series centered on Clarice Starling after her graduation from the FBI academy, titled Clarice, which was to be produced by MGM ; the project was never picked up and was shelved. At January 2020, Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet were announced to develop the series for CBS as a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs set in 1993. A month later, Rebecca Breeds was cast as Starling.
The Hannibal Lecter films, when compared to other top-grossing American horror franchises—Alien vs. Predator, Candyman, Child's Play, The Conjuring Universe, The Exorcist, Evil Dead, Final Destination, Friday the 13th, Godzilla, Halloween, Hellraiser, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Jaws, Jurassic Park, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen, Paranormal Activity, Planet of the Apes, Psycho, The Purge, Saw, Scream, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre—is one of the highest grossing horror film franchises.
Musical
In 2005, comedian-musicians Jon and Al Kaplan, most famous for their musical re-imaginings of popular films as YouTube musicals, parodied The Silence of the Lambs, especially the film version, in Silence! The Musical. It premiered Off-Off-Broadway and has since had acclaimed productions in London and Los Angeles. In 2012, it won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle – Score, Lead Performance, Choreography Award.
