In June of 2003 I published an article based on information from Screen International that said that Dino De Laurentiis had acquired the film rights to a prequel to Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon that told the origin story of the most famous cannibal in film history, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Now, CNN is reporting that readers will get a chance to get the early story of Lecter next fall and that indeed Laurentiis has acquired the film rights. The Dino DeLaurentiis Company actually produced the two Hannibal sequels, Red Dragon and Hannibal and Irwyn Applebaum, president and publisher of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group seems quite excited about the new story.
Applebaum told CNN, “Thomas Harris is the premier novelist of psychological suspense of our time… Millions of readers in 25 languages have wondered how Dr. Lecter developed his particular appetite for evil. This novel will satisfy their curiosity.”
While we still have to wait a year for the story, the idea of Lecter also returning to the big screen is exciting. Thanks to SKNR.net for the heads up.
