10 Years After The Silence Of The Lambs, 1 Fateful Decision Completely Ruined Its Sequel

Released ten years after The Silence of the Lambs, one fateful decision completely ruined any potential Hannibal might have had. The Silence of the Lambs is a cultural milestone in American film and deserves a place as one of the best movies of all time. The film was a critical darling, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay, at the 64th Academy Awards, one of only three films to win the coveted “Big Five” awards.

It’s easy to look back fondly on The Silence of the Lambs and how important it was to the film industry as a whole. It’s also easy to think of it as one of the best horror films of all time, despite not necessarily being a horror film in the purest sense, with some of the best tension and atmosphere in any movie. There is so much to love about The Silence of the Lambs, but its first sequel, Hannibal, made one grave mistake that derailed the entire franchise.

The Silence Of The Lambs Spawned A Whole Franchise

Hannibal Lecter Became A Franchise Of His Own

When The Silence of the Lambs came out in 1991, it was a sensation, earning $275 million on a budget of just $20 million. A Hannibal Lecter franchise was spawned following the success of the film, with an official sequel titled Hannibal in 2001. After that, a prequel to both films, Red Dragon, was released in 2002 and finally, a prequel to all three films titled Hannibal Rising was released in 2007. All of these were adapted from the novels of the same name. A Hannibal series ran from 2013-2015, but it wasn’t tied into the films and wasn’t an exact adaptation of the source material.

Although Hannibal wasn’t as good of a film as The Silence of the Lambs, it made more money than the first film, but audience reception helped dampen expectations for the rest of the franchise and each subsequent film made less than the previous one. What was once a promising franchise with one of the scariest characters in horror, quickly ran its course until there wasn’t much left to give by the end. Still, it is impressive that a film like The Silence of the Lambs was able to spawn an entire franchise, despite how bleak and uncomfortable the film actually is.

Despite Huge Promise, Hannibal Was A Failure

Hannibal Wasn’t As Good As The Original Film

Given that The Silence of the Lambs is generally considered one of the best psychological horror films ever, there was so much potential for Hannibal to truly be something special. A direct sequel to the narrative of the first film with the return of both Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Sterling sounds too good to be true, and unfortunately, it was. Despite making more money than The Silence of the Lambs, the critical reception for Hannibal felt a sharp drop-off, going from 95% on Rotten Tomatoes to 39% in just one film.

Hannibal failed to live up to the standards that The Silence of the Lambs set a decade before. Understandably, it would be hard to reach those same heights, given how monumental of a film The Silence of the Lambs actually is, but Hannibal isn’t even in the same ballpark as its predecessor. There are several reasons that it was a step-down. There was a different director and other writers brought in for Hannibal, and it was an entire decade after the breakout success of the first film. Still, there is one major reason Hannibal failed to live up to its potential as a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs.

Clarice’s Recasting Sunk Hannibal

Hannibal Never Had A Chance

Despite being a direct sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, with Anthony Hopkins reprising his role as Hannibal Lecter, Hannibal didn’t bring back Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling. Instead, Julianne Moore took over the role. Not only was it a mistake, it was the biggest mistake in the entire franchise and one of the biggest reasons why Hannibal is a disappointing sequel. It’s a shame that Jodie Foster didn’t return for Hannibal, and in a 2005 interview with Games Radar, she talked about not playing Clarice in the sequel and how much the character means to her and the director, stating:

You know, I don’t think you can ever take away what Silence was… The official reason I didn’t do Hannibal is I was doing another movie, Flora Plum [a long-cherished project that has yet to be shot]. So I get to say, in a nice, dignified way, that I wasn’t available when that movie was being shot. But Clarice meant so much to Jonathan and I, she really did, and I know it sounds kind of strange to say but there was no way that either of us could really trample on her.

One of the reasons that The Silence of the Lambs is so enduring as a film is the immense chemistry between Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins as Clarice and Hannibal. It’s the central part of the film, and the monumental performances from both add so much. Despite being a great actress herself, Julianne Moore couldn’t live up to what Jodie Foster did with the character before, and her chemistry with Anthony Hopkins wasn’t as strong. It’s a shame that Hannibal wasn’t nearly as good as what came before, despite having so much potential.

Source: Games Radar

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Hannibal is a thriller that sees Anthony Hopkins reprising his role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. Directed by Ridley Scott and based on Thomas Harris’s novel, the film follows the intriguing dynamics between Lecter and FBI agent Clarice Starling, played by Julianne Moore, as she seeks to capture him while he remains at large.

Release Date

February 9, 2001

Runtime

132 Minutes

Writers

David Mamet
, Steven Zaillian

Budget

$87 Million

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures
, Dino De Laurentiis Company
, Scott Free Productions

Distributor(s)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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