The showrunner behind Hannibal has said that he regrets not including a kiss between the two lead characters in the final season.
The show, which serves as a prequel to Silence of the Lambs, was not originally envisioned to be a romance, but evolved in that direction – much to the delight of fans.
“Initially, I didn’t want to misrepresent Thomas Harris’ characters because they clearly have heterosexual leanings in the source material, but as with the kids these days, that sexuality became much more fluid over the course of the series,” Fuller told Entertainment Weekly.
“They really helped kind of leach that romance out of the page into something that was actionable that became writing dialogue that was, ‘Is Hannibal in love with me?’ and ‘Do you ache for him?’”
Some viewers felt that Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) should have shared a kiss in the third and final season, with Fuller now acknowledging that may have been a missed opportunity.
He added: “There were several takes and there was never any actual lip locking. But there was a lingering [in one take] where Mads’s lips parted, hovering over Will’s mouth in a way that went on… for a while. When I was watching dailies, it seemed like an eternity.
“But if I had to do it again, I might suggest to kiss and see how it played. But neither of the actors were ever afraid of going there. If there were any concerns, it was always just about the remaining authentic. That certainly was my goal because, yes, I absolutely wanted to see them kiss.”
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