How to watch every movie and show chronologically and by release date

The Hannibal Movies, in turn, helped make the doctor into one of the most charismatic villains of cinema, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Through creepy but captivating dialogue, viewers get to know his brutal acts of violence, his chilling intelligence and his criminal history. The character was created by author Thomas Harris, and his Hannibal Lecter books have all been adapted into series and movies with confusing timelines. To make matters worse, several actors appeared in multiple Hannibal Lecter movies playing different parts.

The combined popularity of the novels along with Hopkins’ Oscar-winning picture inspired further screen depictions of the origins of the cannibals. As more movies and series followed, a breakdown was necessary to understand and separate the release date from the chronological unfolding of events in Hannibal Lecter’s life. For fans interested in the series kicked off The silence of the lambsThis is the way to watch the Hannibal Lecter movies in order.

How to watch Hannibal Lecter in chronological order

How to watch Hannibal Lecter on release date

Manhunter

Released in 1986

The first adaptation of Harris’s work (in this case the novel red dragon) was Manhunter in 1986, Directed by Hollywood legend Michael Mann, and stars Successions Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter (played Lecter in the film). In keeping with the source material, Hannibal plays a smaller supporting role in the story, with the main focus on FBI agent Will Graham (William Peterson of CSI fame), the man who caught Hannibal in the first place, hunting down a new serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy.

Manhunter is a movie that is Often dismissed because it was before Anthony Hopkins’ run as Hannibal. However, despite this, it is worth the watch thanks to Mann’s direction and Tom Noonan’s performance as serial killer Francis Dolerhyde. It is a fascinating movie to watch as a companion piece along Red Dragon.

The best order to watch all Hannibal Lecter movies and TV shows

Hannibal

(2013-2015)

Despite this happening in modern times, Hannibal is set between Hannibal Rising And Red Dragon and intimately explores Hannibal Lecter’s pathology. At this point, Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelson) is a consultant to FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) as he tracks down serial killers in Minnesota, unaware of the fact that he talks to one every day. Shot and incredibly well acted, this is one of the best representations of (and introductions to) Thomas Harris’ universe.

While the relationship between Hannibal and Clarice Starling was iconic, The show deepened and gave new insight to the bond he had with Will Graham. The show goes over some aspects that fans will recognize from other movies, but it takes a unique approach to Hannibal as a character. It’s also worth noting that in the character’s timeline, it’s exciting to see Hannibal operating as a serial killer while also being a respected member of society, something that was only hinted at in recent movies.

The series ran for three seasons and earned an Emmy nomination For Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role. Despite strong reviews, especially for Mikkelsen’s ability to make the iconic role of Hannibal his own, the show was never a huge ratings hit.

The silence of the lambs

Released in 1991

in The silence of the lambs, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is an imprisoned serial killer, and young FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) needs his help to track down yet another serial killer.“Buffalo Bill” (Ted Levine). Hannibal Lecter’s best quotes come from The silence of the lambs Iconic script as Dr. Lecter takes an interest in Clarice and the two form a fascinating partnership.

The movie comes directly before the events of Red Dragon In the timeline as the prequel ends Hannibal is informed that a young FBI agent has come to talk to him. While Hannibal is incarcerated for most of the movie, The silence of the lambs It was also his third escape. The ending shows Hannibal contacting Clarisse while on the run from the authorities, where he realizes that he will take revenge on his former captor, Dr. Chilton. Hannibal Out in the World also sets up the sequel that would follow 11 years later. Later.

The silence of the lambs Grossed $272.7 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo) and won Oscars in all five major categories it was nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Actress (Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Talley). This is a rare example for a horror movie, and is one of only three movies to win all five major Oscars. It was one night And One flew over the cuckoo’s nest

Red Dragon

Released in 2002

Red Dragon Takes place in the 1980s, starting with Hannibal Lecter is an established forensic psychiatrist helping FBI profiler Will Graham (Edward Norton) hunt down serial killersAll the way through to Hannibal is committed to the sanatorium under director Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald), which is where Clarice Starling finds him in The silence of the lambs. in Red DragonGraham must ask Lecter’s help to find “The Tooth Fairy” (Ralph Fiennes) who, unbeknownst to Graham, Lecter has been in contact with, pitting the two men against each other.

This movie is basically a condensed version of Hannibal Season 3. It is too Based on the same story as Manhunterwhich came out 16 years earlier. While Red Dragon was successful, making $209 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo), it does not match Michael Mann’s 1986 movie, the TV show or The silence of the lambs. However, seeing Hopkins back in this iconic role while facing off with Graham makes for some memorable scenes. Fiennes is also excellent as the formidable killer.

Unlike Manhunter, Red Dragon Centers on the relationship between Graham and Hannibal. Their past is also given more context with an opening prologue that shows them working alongside each other until the moment Graham realizes that Hannibal is the serial killer they’ve been hunting. This leads to Hannibal nearly killing Graham, adding to his fear of the killer. It’s another moment talked about a few times before, but actually seeing Hannibal captured is a key part of the timeline.

Hannibal

Released in 2001

A decade after the events of The Silence of the lambs, Hannibal Lecter is still on the run, and Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) is haunted by her inability to capture him. When she is contacted by Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), the only person to survive one of Lecter’s attacks, she is unknowingly used as bait to lure Hannibal into being captured, and is injured in the process.

Hannibal shows some compassion for Clarice and saves her from being a casualty of Verger’s plans before once again evading police custody, A significant change from Harris’s book ending, Which sees Clarice join Hannibal in Europe as part of a rather toxic relationship. Hannibal Brought a nice worldwide box office haul, with $351.6 million (via Box Office Mojo), but reviews are mixed.

The movie plays heavily on the relationship between Hannibal and Clarice, which is part of the reason it falters. Jodie Foster was unwilling to reprise her role in the sequel, which led to Moore filling the character’s shoes. As brilliant of an actor as Moore is, the recasting immediately loses a lot of the dynamic that was established in the first movie and it feels like a new character chasing Hannibal after all these years, rather than the old acquaintances in a game of cat- And – mouse.

Hannibal Rising

Released in 2007

In 1944 Lithuania, Hannibal Rising is first in the chronological lecture timeline and serves as an origin story for Lecter’s taste for human flesh. Eight-year-old Hannibal loses his family in the fallout between retreating Nazi forces and a Soviet tank in front of his house, and as an adult, Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) hunts down the soldiers who brutally killed his sister after holding them captive. .

Although it is interesting for Hannibal fans, “see how the meat is made” is not necessary to enjoy his madness, and The material is better covered in the Hannibal TV series. And without Anthony Hopkins as lecturer, Hannibal Rising Ended up being the least successful movie in the series based on both box office and critical reviews – $82,169,884 ( via Box Office Mojo) and 16% on Rotten tomatoes.

A big problem with this movie is that it comes with a number of unnecessary prequels in that it offers vague explanations of things that fans don’t need to know more about. There’s even a callback to the iconic muzzle mask Hannibal wears The silence of the lambs Which makes no sense. Hannibal Rising Make the mistake of thinking the audience wants a reason to like Hannibal and understand why he became a serial killer and cannibal. Seeing him on the revenge mission does not feel at all like the character presented in the other movies and obscures the mystique.

Clarice

Released in 2021

Clarice is a Continuation of the Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) storyline. After the events of silence of the lambs, But before the plot of Hannibal. Between the two films, Clarice Has a lot of ground to cover in a single season and is only worth watching for hardcore fans of her character. Hannibal Lecter is only mentioned, so even completists may decide to skip it.

There was almost a second season of the show on Paramount+, but it never ended and the show ended with only 13 episodes. While Clarice Could have made a solid procedural show with a compelling protagonist, it’s actually weighed down by its connection to the existing franchise. Due to some rights issues, there was a lot that Clarice Couldn’t address what fans might have expected. In the end, it felt like an odd addition to these Hannibal Franchise that is not fully in or completely out of the timeline.

The future of the Hannibal franchise

Despite the popularity of the Hannibal movies and the iconic status of the character, There are no plans to return to the franchise that have been revealed. In 2016, Anthony Hopkins revealed to The rap That he has regrets about making the two follow-up movies too The silence of the lambs And confirmed that he was done with the franchise and character. So, despite 2001’s Hannibal Leaving the door open for Hopkins to return in a new movie, it’s not likely.

Hannibal Rising Cemented how difficult it is to see someone else take on the role of Hannibal In a movie, but Mads Mikkelson was able to make the role his own in the Hannibal Show. In fact, the best chance for the franchise to continue may be the long-awaited and oft-rumored fourth season of Hannibal. Although it has been nearly a decade since the series ended, fans are still calling for its return. There was also some interest among fans to see Mikkelsen reprise the role in a remake of The silence of the lambs.

Although there are no plans on the horizon and no clear path of what to do with the character next, it seems like only a matter of time until Hannibal Lecter returns to the screen. He’s far too interesting of a character to be left untouched for so long.