'Hannibal' Season 3 News: Michael Pitt Leaving, Joe Anderson to Take Over as Mason Verger
Michael Pitt will not be returning to "Hannibal" when the show comes back for its third season to reprise his role as Mason Verger. Pitt will be replaced by Joe Anderson, a character actor whose work includes roles in "Across the Universe," "The Crazies" and "The Divide."
According to TVLine, the recast comes at a convenient time in Mason's story arc: when he was last seen on the show, he was under the influence of Dr. Lecter's hallucinogenic drugs, and being led by the titular serial killer to cut off chunks of his own face to feed to himself and to enemy Will Graham's dogs.
The website also reports that it was Pitt's decision not to reprise as Mason on Hannibal's third season, thought the reason for his departure from the show is unclear as of the moment. Meanwhile, Anderson is clearly taking over the role as he shared a picture of himself on Instagram as Mason Verger, complete with makeup and prosthetics.
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The third season of 'Hannibal' will pick up one year after the bloody finale of season 2, and fans will find out for sure who lived or died during the confrontation at Dr. Lecter's home in the unforgettable "Mizumono" episode. Mads Mikkelsen's Lecter has been spending that time in Europe with Dr. Bedevil Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson).
Season 3 will also introduce a new recurring character named Cordell, the highly intelligent and very creepy personal doctor to Mason. The character is described by TVLine as "attentive and gentle with Mason, a professional who cares about his work, but we get a sense he might be as sadistic as his boss."
"Hannibal" Season 3 will return to NBC in 2015.
