Nearly six years has passed since NBC's Hannibal came to an end with its third and final season. Since then, the show has only grown in popularity, with audiences wondering if we will ever be able to bask once again in the delightfully unorthodox relationship between Mads Mikkelsen's Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy's criminal profiler Will Graham. Well, according to Mikkelsen, this growing popularity could be the very thing that resurrects the show for a fourth season, describing the backstage discussion as "revitalized."

"The talks have been revitalized...I don't think you'd find a member of the cast that is still alive that would say, "No, thanks.' We all enjoyed it tremendously."

Mads Mikkelsen cited Netflix has another reason for why the show could be brought back, with the actor calling the streaming service a "new home" for Hannibal that has led to an even larger fanbase. Clearly, Mikkelsen would love the opportunity to play the iconic role again, stating with confidence that the rest of the cast would feel the same way about making a comeback all these years later.

Of course, just because the fans and cast want it, does not necessarily mean that Netflix or NBC will bring Hannibal back for a fourth outing, but Mikkelsen's optimism is certainly reassuring. Besides, the actor is happy with what was produced, rejecting the idea that the series was left unfinished.

"Unfinished? No. Creative showrunners always have a way to end the season because no one knows if there's going to be a next one. So, there was always that feeling of, 'Well, that was it.'" Having said that, Mikkelsen then added that the cast and crew "were pretty sure" that they would be getting a fourth season. "That was not the feeling after the first or the second. But the third [season], we were pretty sure," he said.

Hannibal stars Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, a gifted criminal profiler and hunter of serial killers, with Mads Mikkelsen taking on the role of Hannibal Lecter. The series was universally praised, and ever since being unceremoniously cancelled back in 2015, fans have hoped that the show would be brought back so can continue the pleasure of eavesdropping on the steamy philosophical conversations between Dancy's neurotic FBI profiler and Mikkelsen's charming cannibal.

Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller has provided some clarity on whether we will ever be gifted a revival of the series in the past saying, "I wish there was something that was definitive. I've had conversations with Hugh and Mads and the cast, in terms of like, 'This is what we would do if we were allowed to come back.' There's some ideas that I'm very excited about that continue the strange trajectory of season 3. But I have not been approached. I've knocked on every door and rang every bell." However, with Mikkelsen's revelation that talks have now been revitalized, who knows what the future may bring.

For now, Mikkelsen is putting down the knife, fork and plate of questionable meat in order to pick up a wand as Fantastic Beasts 3 villain, Gellert Grindelwald. The Hannibal star will take over the role from Johnny Depp, who was infamously asked to step down amid an ongoing court case. Fantastic Beasts 3 is scheduled to be released on 15 July 2022. This comes to us courtesy of the Happy Sad Confused Podcast.