


The third book and final plotline in the Harris series finds Lecter post-escape living in Rome while Clarice Starling is reeling from a career-low point. With a tight timeline between the releases of Hannibal and Red Dragon, Hannibal had Anthony Hopkins working back-to-back Lecter scripts. Each fan will ship a different onscreen Hannibal and FBI agent combination, but in the end, only two triumphed over the rest. The Dino De Laurentiis Company had a hand in producing each screen version of the characters as they own partial rights to the Harris characters, with Dino and Martha carefully overseeing productions until their individual passings. RELATED: How to Watch Hannibal Lecter Movies and Series in Order Five movies and two TV series later, the characters from Harris's books have received a wide range of reception: from Oscar-winning portrayals, to onscreen adaptations fans would rather forget. Throughout the decades, various filmmakers and actors have taken a crack at bringing the charismatic, sadistic villain and supporting characters to life.

The book series, written by Thomas Harris, consists of four entries: Red Dragon (1981), The Silence of the Lambs (1988), Hannibal (1999), and Hannibal Rising (2006). Audiences love a good villain, and one of the tastiest literary and cinematic characters is Hannibal Lecter.
