The ''Hannibal Lecter'' franchise is an American

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

based around the titular character,

Hannibal Lecter Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a Character (arts), fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who Human cannibalism, eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychi ...

, a brilliant psychiatrist who moonlights as a notorious cannibalistic serial killer, whose assistance is routinely sought out by law enforcement personnel to aid in the capture of other criminals. He originally appeared in a series of novels (starting with '' Red Dragon'' in 1981) by

Thomas Harris William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notab ...

. The series has since expanded into film and television.

Novels

''Red Dragon'' (1981)

''The Silence of the Lambs'' (1988)

''Hannibal'' (1999)

''Hannibal Rising'' (2006)

Films

''Manhunter'' (1986)

The first adaptation was the 1986 film ''Manhunter'', which was an adaptation of ''Red Dragon'', directed by

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films '' Thief'' (1981) ...

''The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991)

The next adaptation was 1991's ''The Silence of the Lambs'', which was directed by

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

and was the first film to feature

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

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 The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

history to win in all top five categories (

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

for Hopkins, Best Actress for

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

, Best Director for Demme,

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

for Ted Tally, and Best Picture).

''Hannibal'' (2001)

Hopkins reprised the role in 2001's ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

'', a sequel directed by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

''Red Dragon'' (2002)

Hopkins once again reprised the role in '' Red Dragon'', a prequel directed by

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the ''Rush Hour'' film series, '' The Family Man'', '' Red Dragon'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and ''Tower Heist''. He is also a producer of several film ...

. In 2002, Hopkins revealed that he had written a screenplay for another sequel, ending with Clarice Starling killing Lecter, but it was not produced.

''Hannibal Rising'' (2007)

In 2007, ''Hannibal Rising'' was released. The film is a prequel, directed by Peter Webber and starring Gaspard Ulliel as Lecter.

Television

''Hannibal'' (2013–2015)

In 2013, the TV series ''Hannibal'' premiered. Developed by

Bryan Fuller Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American television writer and producer who has created a number of television series, including ''Dead Like Me'', ''Wonderfalls'', ''Pushing Daisies'', ''Hannibal'', and ''American Gods.'' Fuller worked as ...

, 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 Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for Best Network Television Series, as well as the inaugural Best Action-Thriller Television Series award in 2016.

''Clarice'' (2021)

In May 2012, Lifetime announced to develop a television series centered on Starling after her graduation from the FBI academy, which was to be produced by MGM; the project was never picked up and was shelved. CBS later developed the series of the same name, with Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet as producers, as a sequel to ''The Silence of the Lambs'' set in 1993, starring

Rebecca Breeds Rebecca Elizabeth Breeds (born 17 June 1987) is an Australian actress, known for her roles as Cassie Cometti in the third series of ''Blue Water High'', as series regular Ruby Buckton in the soap opera '' Home and Away,'' Aurora de Martel in ' ...

as Starling. The show premiered in 2021.

Cast and characters

Reception

Box office performance

The ''Hannibal Lecter'' films, when compared to other top-grossing American horror franchises—''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

vs.

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

'', '' Candyman'', '' Child's Play'', '' The Conjuring'', ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 The Exorcist (novel), novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, ...

'', ''

Evil Dead ''Evil Dead'' is an American horror film franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of four feature films and a television series. The series revolves around the ''Necronomicon Ex-Mortis'', an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a g ...

'', '' Final Destination'', ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

'', ''

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

'', ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...

'', ''

I Know What You Did Last Summer ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely base ...

'', ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'', ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenka ...

'', ''

The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spen ...

'', '' Paranormal Activity'', '' Psycho'', '' The Purge'', '' Saw'', '' Scream'', and '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre''—is one of the highest grossing horror film franchises.

Critical reception

Musical

In 2005, comedian-musicians Jon and Al Kaplan, most famous for their musical re-imaginings of popular films as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

musicals, parodied ''The Silence of the Lambs'', especially the film version, in '' Silence! The Musical''. It premiered

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

and has since had acclaimed productions in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(2009) and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

(2012). In 2012, it won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle – Score, Lead Performance, Choreography Award. In 2016, rock band

Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a rock band formed in Oakland, California in 2015 by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Conan Neutron and intended as a vehicle for his songwriting. Featuring Melvins drummer Dale Crover on drums and Tony Ash on b ...

released their second record, ''The Art of Murder'', a concept album which was "directly inspired by the Hannibal Lecter series of books by Thomas Harris".

References

{{Hannibal Lecter Mass media franchises introduced in 1981 Thriller novel series Horror mass media franchises