Comic-Con 2014: NBC’s Hannibal [VIDEO and PHOTOS] 

Warning: Major spoilers ahead

When I first walked into the Hannibal press room, I turned to the press line and saw Raul Esparza. Well, it had been a long first day at SDCC, I was very tired and so, my initial thought was I had walked into the wrong room. I guess Raul Esparza had found a new project. Then, it dawned on me. I walked back in, looked around, saw Caroline Dhavernas and some of the other cast and then, I knew — holy freakin’ crap, Dr. Chilton is alive after all!

Yep, that was one of the big reveals today for Hannibal going into Season 3. Esparza had known for a while that he would be coming back and initially Bryan Fuller and Co. were reluctant to announce it at SDCC. But, they did and to Esparza’s surprise, he found out the fans absolutely loved Dr. Chilton because the crowd at the panel went crazy. And, yes, he will continue doing double-duty, portraying ADA Barba on Law&Order: SVU as well.Welcome back, Dr. Chilton! This news really made my day, actually my entire Comic-Con weekend.

Another character that apparently has escaped Dr. Lecter’s death clutch and will be returning for season three is Dr. Alana Bloom, portrayed by the beautiful Caroline Dhavernas. Given that Alana was pushed from a 2nd story window in the season finale, we really don’t know what shape she will be in — in a wheelchair, a quadriplegic, or what have you — but she definitely will be back. However, she will be returning as a somewhat different character, not exactly hell-bent on revenge against Hannibal but one with a lot of baggage because in many ways she is to blame for all of the carnage in the second half of the last season.

Another big highlight of the night was creator and executive producer, Bryan Fuller, who is always a hoot to chat with. While Hannibal may be on the run now, eventually he will get caught and Fuller gave some insight into their plans when Dr. Lecter can no longer be in the kitchen. We also learned that the theme for the episode titles for season three has already been decided, and it’s going to be Italian. Last season, the theme was Japanese, which was a nice lead-in to season 3, since Lady Murasaki  (a prominent figure in the book Hannibal Rising) will be introduced next season. But, with Hannibal fleeing to Europe and with Italy being such a big part of the book Hannibal, they thought that Italian foods would be quite fitting. But, the best part was a very funny story about some bloopers in the famous orgy scene with Alana, Will and Dr. Lecter. Watch for yourself, hilarious stuff!

So, the press room is winding down and along comes Scott Thompson and Aaron Abrams (Dr. Jimmy Price and Brian Zellar), who we should know as the two autopsy gremlins who worked alongside Beverly Katz. On screen, these guys are geeky and super-smart. Off screen, these actors are a couple of the craziest and funniest guys I have ever met! Let’s see, we found out that Jimmy is now in rehab and Brian has had a sex-change operation and suffers from sex addiction. JUST KIDDING!! The interview really didn’t hit on any details about the next season of the show, but who cares. At the end, everybody at the table was almost in tears from laughing so hard, a perfect ending to a perfect press room. Watch the video, but prepare to laugh your asses off!

I’ve been coming to SDCC for several years, but this is one of the best times that I have had at the event. Thank you, Hannibal, for the Best. Press Room. Ever.

Hannibal returns for season three in early 2015.

PHOTOS:

All photos credited to Mary Powers/TV Goodness.