New 'Hannibal' Series Debuts Delicious First Trailer

Now, just how gutsy do you have to be to create a series around a villain so beloved as Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter without Hopkins?  About as gutsy as you'd have to be make a Norman Bates series without Anthony Perkins, I suppose.  Cynics and skeptics alike may want to reconsider ragging on this series, though, because the series has released it's first trailer, and it looks like NBC might have actually scored a win with this one, as long as the series can deliver on the trailer's potential.

Lecter fan's may recognize that Hugh Dancy plays Will Graham, a character we previously saw played by Ed Norton in Red Dragon and William Peterson in the lesser-known Manhunter, which was actually the first film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter.  In this series, the cannibalistic role is played by the appropriately named Mads Mikkelsen.

The dynamic between the two main character gives me a Death Note vibe in all the right ways.  If the writers can keep that tension going, I know I'll be glued to this.

Hannibal permies on April 4th.