The Hannibal Lecter Films in Chronological Order

There’s something viscerally terrifying about Hannibal Lecter. His intellect. His appetite. The way he whispers innocence before ripping it apart. His saga across film feels like a descent into nightmare—each installment peeling back more of the monster beneath the mask.

If we consider the Hanibal Lecter films in chronological order we have thus:

Hannibal Rising (2007) kicks things off in grim fashion.

Peter Webber directs from a script by Dean Georgaris and Tim Metcalfe. Gaspard Ulliel embodies the young doctor as he learns brutality. It’s drawn from Thomas Harris’s 2006 novel Hannibal Rising and paints the bloody origin of a killer.

Then comes Manhunter (1986). Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) writes and directs this stark thriller. William Petersen plays FBI profiler Will Graham. Brian Cox debuts as Hannibal Lecktor, spelled with a k. It’s adapted from Harris’s 1981 novel Red Dragon and establishes the lethal game of cat and mouse.

Red Dragon (2002) revisits that first book with fresh eyes.

Brett Ratner (X-Men: Last Stand) directs a Ted Tally screenplay that sticks closer to Harris’s original text. Edward Norton hunts Lecter this time.

 

Anthony Hopkins returns in the role that defined him. The result is chilling and faithful to the source.

The final stretches of Lecter’s journey arrive in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Hannibal (2001). Jonathan Demme and Ted Tally translate Harris’s 1988 novel to the screen in Silence of the Lambs. Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling faces Hopkins’s Lecter in an Oscar‑winning clash.

Ridley Scott’s Hannibal adapts Harris’s 1999 sequel novel. Julianne Moore steps in as Clarice opposite Hopkins. It’s a lavish, unsettling continuation of their twisted bond.

List of Hannibal Lector films in Chronological Order

Film (Year)	Director / Scriptwriter	Main Actors	Source Novel
Hannibal Rising (2007)	Director: Peter Webber Script: Dean Georgaris, Tim Metcalfe	Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Aaran Thomas	Hannibal Rising (2006) by Thomas Harris
Manhunter (1986)	Director: Michael Mann Script: Michael Mann	William Petersen, Brian Cox	Red Dragon (1981) by Thomas Harris
Red Dragon (2002)	Director: Brett Ratner Script: Ted Tally	Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins	Red Dragon (1981) by Thomas Harris
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)	Director: Jonathan Demme Script: Ted Tally	Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins	The Silence of the Lambs (1988) by Thomas Harris
Hannibal (2001)	Director: Ridley Scott Script: David Mamet, Steven Zaillian	Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore	Hannibal (1999) by Thomas Harris

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