Hannibal Lecter Is Making His Return

Producers Dino and Martha De Laurentiis have set British Director Peter Webber to direct "Behind the Mask," the Hannibal Lecter prequel being scripted by author Thomas Harris according to Variety.

The film will begin production in May for release in Summer 2006. Universal and MGM, partners on "Hannibal" and "Red Dragon," will get first crack at domestic rights. The British helmer of "Girl With A Pearl Earring" signed on just as the producers prepare to sell overseas rights this week at the American Film Market.

Author Thomas Harris surprised the De Laurentiises by asking to write the script as he scribbled the book. That is a first for Harris whose first draft has apparently enough material to yield two movies. They used it to hook Webber in.

Dino De Laurentiis says "It is a revenge story that shows why he became a cannibal,but he kills people that audiences want to see killed. So while there is a natural revulsion, the sympathy toward Hannibal remains...The first film can finish with his escape from France and then continue in the United States"

The producers and director will soon begin scouting locations in Lithuania, the Czech Republic and France. They will simultaneously search for young actors to play Lecter at three pivotal moments in his life.