Yep. Similarly, I like to pretend that The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions never happened and every Terminator movie after Judgment Day

Maybe because of fear that the sequel would pale by comparison with the predecessor as it actually did.

His first novel, in 1975, called Black Sunday is the ONLY book he's written that isn't Hannibal related.
I've read that and seen the movie as well. Both are great.

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I think both posters are a little off. Harris owns the LITERARY rights to the Lecter franchise, so no more books can be written without his approval. The FILM rights are a different story, and the owner of those (not the publisher of the books) went to Harris and told him they were going to make another Lecter movie with or without his involvement. That's how Hannibal Rising came about. Not sure about Hannibal.

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I am not too fond of "Hannibal" the book less because of its' gore - which is to be expected lets' face in a story about a cannibal - then because of its' continuity problem. As I remember the first two books "Silence" took place in 1983, and Hannibal takes place mostly in 1997, but Thomas Harris makes the mistake of saying Hannibal is set 7 years later rather than the 14 years it actually is.

Everyone gets to have their own opinion on here for another couple of weeks anyway

And the book, Hannibal, and the movie destroyed the character completely. It was vile.

As far as Thomas Harris was concerned the movie version of Silence ruined the character of Hannibal. That's why he wrote the next one

and as far as I'm concerned, he ruined the character in Hannibal. The book (that I did read) was even more grotesque than the movie, that itself could easily have been "modified" from its sheer grossness to something that would have translated on the screen as vile, but not 'as' vile. too many scenes were unnecessary and gratuitously disgusting.

Agreed. Harris only wrote Hannibal and Hannibal Rising because the publisher threatened to hire someone else to write them. He apparently only intended to write Red Dragon and Silence.

It took a decade because Thomas Harris, who owned the rights to the name, the franchise, everything about Hannibal, hadn't written a sequel. the man is 75 years old, and has published 5 novels.
His first novel, in 1975, called Black Sunday is the ONLY book he's written that isn't Hannibal related.
He then wrote Red Dragon (1981); Silence of the Lambs (1988); Hannibal (1999) Hannibal Rising (2006).
So, the movie couldn't happen without the sequel being written.
Hope this helps.

The movie Manhunter in 1986 was actually the movie Red Dragon. Brian Cox played the role of Lector. After the success of Silence they remade the movie.

Well the novel says 7 years. There is in fact a major continuity problem like that in that Hannibal should be described as taking plaed 14 years later.

Hannibal takes place 10 years after the end of The Silence of the Lambs just like it played out in the movies.

Well, the novel "Hannibal" didn't come out until 1999. Did you want them to time travel?
Can't stop the signal.