Clarice Updates: The upcoming sequel “Clarice” to the TV series, The Silence of the Lambs is getting ready to be premiered by CBS.
However, due to some peculiar legal issues, the script of the sequel is in a way forbidden to mention the character of or story arcs associated with Hannibal Lecter.
Thomas Harris’ rights are divided between Dino De Laurentiis Company and MGM according to the reports of Entertainment Weekly. The segregation is materialized in a way that the rights to all the characters from the 1991 film, including Clarice Starling, Paul Krendler, Buffalo Bill, Ardelia Mapp, and more come under MGM’s possession.
On the other hand, Dino De Laurentiis Company holds ownership of the rights to all other Hannibal characters, including NBC’s cannibal doctor himself. The way Hannibal, Bryan Fuller’s show could not mention Starling mirrors the way in which the upcoming sequel Clarice cannot allude to Hannibal or even the related plotlines.
Clarice is meant to take place in the year 1993 which is almost a year after the events of The Silence of The Lambs were halted. This is actually quite problematic and troublesome in terms of the audience’s comprehension.
But that movie truly served as a temptation to drive viewers into the horrid dynamics between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling.
But the entire propounded idea of Starling tracking down and handling all other sexual predators except Hannibal Lecter without even a hint of interaction between the two sucks the excitement out of it, making it all sound conveniently impossible. However, the creators of the show seem to be quite determined to take up the challenge.
Clarice: What Alex Kurtzman has to Say?
Alex Kurtzman, the executive producer of the show, following an optimistic lead, views this as a boon. This free reign in a way provides them the freedom to choose and mold the character’s experience in any novel way.
This acts as an opportunity to step out of the box, the preconceived expectations or the precedented way of the show’s presentation. In addition to this, he also states, “I’m still trying to understand how the rights are divided.
But it’s been quite liberating because we have no interest in writing about Hannibal — not because we didn’t love the films and the show, but because it was done so well by so many people that it didn’t feel fresh for us,” in conversation with EW.
Nevertheless, Kurtzman wants Clarice to get out of the shackles or boundaries of a single serial killer and to establish herself as a distinct entity, to have the spotlight for herself, and present issues that we deal with in our lives. In his words, Season 1 will center around “a more expanded, nuanced, complicated, and topical version of a serial killer.”
Clarice is scheduled to premiere on CBS on February 11th at 10:00 p.m. ET. Revisit the teaser trailer for the series, which gave us a foretaste of the titular character played by Rebecca Breeds.
