Hannibal Is Recasting a Major Character
When NBC's gruesome psychological horror Hannibal returns for Season 3, it'll bring with it a new face for an old character. And not just because the character in question literally cut off pieces of his face and ate them during one of Season 2's most horrific moments.
Actor Michael Pitt, who played sociopathic sadist Mason Verger, is leaving the series, TV Line reports. Apparently, the decision to depart was Pitt's.
But the character isn't leaving the show along with the actor, as Mason has already been recast. The River's Joe Anderson will take over the role. Anderson also appeared in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 as Alistair, and recently played the lead in WEtv's The Divide.
Normally, swapping actors in a role might cause all sorts of continuity problems for a television show, but in Hannibal's case, the exchange should actually go quite smoothly. Given that Mason ended up disfigured thanks to the self-mutilation he carried out while under the influence of Dr. Lecter's hallucinogenic drugs, Anderson will don gobs of prosthetic makeup for the role and be barely recognizable.
NBC has yet to announce a premiere date for Hannibal's third season, but it is expected to debut in the spring.
