De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Orion Pictures/NBC
Once again the fictional cannibal character known was Dr. Hannibal Lecter was mentioned in a speech given to thousands, which is something that has somehow already happened multiple times this year.
“Has anyone seen Silence of the Lambs? The late great Hannibal Lecter… he would love to have you for dinner,” former President Donald Trump said to the RNC crowd on Thursday, quoting the famed end of the Best Picture-winning film.
“Silence of the Lambs! Has anyone ever seen Silence of the Lambs?” he asked at a New Jersey rally in May. “The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? ‘Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner,’ as this poor doctor walks by… ‘I’m about to have a friend for dinner.’ But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter…”
The odd repetitive mentions of the ‘late great’ Hannibal Lecter is deeply confounding considering that A) he’s a fictional and despicable cannibalistic murderer, and B), perhaps most confusingly of all, the character has *never* died in any medium he’s appeared in: movies, TV shows, or books.
Created by American author Thomas Harris and debuting in the 1981 novel Red Dragon, Hannibal Lecter has appeared in four novels, four films, and one TV series.
And in every single one of them, he survives. The only time the fate of Hannibal is ambiguous is in the season three finale of the acclaimed NBC series Hannibal, when the character is pulled off a cliff and into the ocean — although the body is never seen hitting the water nor thereafter.
As for the actors who have played Hannibal Lecter — Brian Cox, Anthony Hopkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Gaspard Ulliel — they’re also all alive and well. Hopkins, who won Best Actor for his portrayal of Lecter in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, won a second Oscar for Best Actor just a few years ago.
So what, exactly, could the phrase “late, great Hannibal Lecter” mean? Perhaps it’s a reference to the dearth of Hannibal Lecter content in pop culture since the NBC series ended in 2015. Like, “Man, remember the late TV show Hannibal? That was great.”
But alas, the iconic “Having an old friend for dinner line” was never mentioned in the Hannibal series — it solely exists in The Silence of the Lambs, it’s not even present in the book.
Thus, other than genuinely respecting and appreciating a cannibal that you mistakenly believe is dead, there is truly no logical reason to say “the late, great Hannibal Lecter.” Then again, does this surprise anyone?