Look forward to seeing Richard Armitage grow a few dozen inches and chomp some flesh in Hannibal season 3.
With The Hobbit trilogy done and dusted, Richard Armitage is returning to the present — and embarking into the wonderful world of television.
The Thorin actor has landed a pivotal role in NBC’s Hannibal, which stars Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy.
Armitage will be playing serial killer Francis Dolarhyde, nicknamed “the Tooth Fairy” for reasons we don’t want to think too much about.
TV Line first reported the news, which was confirmed yesterday by the official Hannibal Twitter account:
Francis Dolarhyde is going to be a real *Thorin* Hannibal's side.
Ok… we'll stop.
— Hannibal (@NBCHannibal) January 13, 2015
We appreciate your punning, Hannibal tweeters. Just don’t make a hobbit out of it.
Armitage has big shoes to fill, picking up the mantle from Ralph Fiennes, who famously portrayed the character in Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon (2002). Francis Dolarhyde has also been immortalized by Tom Noonan in the 1986 thriller Manhunter.
Richard Armitage will appear in six episodes of the upcoming Hannibal season 3, which will premiere this year (though no release date has yet been set).
We’re excited to see Armitage lock horns with Mikkelsen. As long as they don’t Dragon the storyline, it’s gonna be pure gold.