Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen says season 4 could still happen, but warns that time is running out. Adapted from the works of Silence of the Lambs author Thomas Harris, Bryan Fuller’s NBC series Hannibal offered up a new take on serial killer Hannibal Lecter, with Mikkelsen taking on the iconic role. Big ratings were never in the cards for the gruesome and psychologically probing Hannibal, but the show did develop a devoted cult following over its three seasons. That Hannibal cult was unfortunately left hanging as season 3 ended on a frustratingly ambiguous note, with no season 4 being released to date.

There has indeed been plenty of chatter about a possible Hannibal season 4 in the eight years since the show last aired an episode, but star Mikkelsen unfortunately was not able to confirm anything when asked about the Hannibal situation at the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The best Mikkelsen could do was offer a crumb of hope that something could still happen, but cautioned that there is a ticking clock on Hannibal season 4 getting done. Check out what Mikkelsen had to say in the space below (via Deadline):

"Always a chance... there's always a chance. It's all about finding a home for it. Of course, we're running out of time. We can't wait 20 years... but in the next couple years, if someone finds a home, we are all ready to take it up again."

Bryan Fuller’s Plans For Hannibal Season 4 – And Beyond

Hannibal creator Fuller once outlined an ambitious seven-season plan for the show that would have seen it eventually introducing the character of Clarice Starling and adapting the events of the most famous Lecter novel, The Silence of the Lambs. But rights issues that later arose, and are not known to have been resolved, seemingly put an end to any possibility of Starling ing the Hannibal cast of characters.

In a more recent interview with Fuller, the Hannibal creator gave some hints about what would happen in season 4 of the show, telling Nerdist about plans for a time jump to for any delay in getting the season made. “The great thing about the idea that if we are going to be meeting them [Hannibal and Will] and it takes five, six, seven years or what have you, that’s just how long they’ve been on the lam,” Fuller said. It’s now been eight years since Hannibal aired its cliffhanger episode leaving the fates of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter in doubt, and at least going by Mikkelsen’s remarks, there is a window of only a few more years in which to make season 4 happen.

This all would seem to leave Hannibal fans in a depressing place, but Mikkelsen does at least say there’s a chance. Unfortunately, rights issues and lack of a home are only two of the huge obstacles standing in the way of Hannibal season 4 coming to fruition. Meanwhile, Fuller has moved on to another horror project, developing a Friday the 13th series for Peacock.

Source: Deadline