Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster starring cult classic The Silence of the Lambs released in 1991 and has a whopping 8.6 rating on IMDb. Through this film, Director Jonathan Demme, gave the world one of the most celebrated characters to date namely Hannibal Lecter. Fans of the psychological thriller have taken quite interested in the former psychologist turned criminal due to his cannibalistic nature. The film centres around FBI agent and criminologist Clarice Starling who, with the help of serial killer Hannibal, tries to solve another mystery of an unknown killer claiming female lives. Recently, we found out that a sequel to the film scripted by Hopkins himself never got to see the light of day, and it might just be for the best because, in this film, the beloved character would have met his demise.
The history of Hannibal on screen
After being portrayed for the first time by Brian Cox in 1986’s Manhunter, Hannibal’s character has been adapted to screen many times, with Hopkins’ role being the most memorable. It may come as a surprise to many that Lecter only got fifteen minutes of screen time in The Silence of the Lambs because thanks to Hopkins’ acting prowess, his presence was felt throughout the film almost ominously. After the big hit, Hannibal (2001), Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising (2007) followed the genius of this character through, but Anthony Hopkins’ sequel would have been set after the events of Hannibal and put an end to the character’s arc. The film was based on Thomas Harris’ novel of the same name but deliberately avoided using the same ending as the book as it seemed too controversial. The book ends with Hannibal drugging Clarice and running off with her, the film shows Lecter escaping custody once again, but this time with a missing hand.
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Why it is a good thing that Hopkins’ sequel met a dead end
Anthony Hopkins’ unmade sequel would have started with Clarice being haunted by nightmares and anxiety about running into Hannibal once again only to wake up one night and find him sitting in front of her for real. The details about the rest of the storyline are not very clear, but the essential bit-the ending-witnessed Lecter meets his creator as Clarice shoots him down. Hopkins was clear from the start that he only penned this script for recreational purposes, and that seemed apt as it never really gained any traction anyway, and we are thankful for it!
