‘Hannibal’ Season 3: Gillian Anderson Confirmed as Series Regular

NBC's 'Hannibal' served its viewers a tantalizing, if terrifying shock by the climax of season 2 finale "Mizumono," but it seems series creator Bryan Fuller will follow through on one of the bigger twists in a major way. Not only will 'X-Files' vet Gillian Anderson return to 'Hannibal' season 3 in the role of Dr. Bedelia du Maurier, but the good Dr. Lecter's traveling companion will do so as a series regular!

TVLine has confirmed that Fuller made good on his many promises to pursue Anderson as a regular for season 3, her character having appeared intermittently throughout the first two seasons. We're getting into spoiler territory here, but fans of the series will remember that Anderson's Bedelia du Maurier fled season 2 for her own safety from former patient Hannibal (Mads MIkkelsen) only to pop up in a post-credits stinger dutifully fleeing the country with the cannibalistic killer.

As revealed by Fuller in multiple interviews and reiterated at Comic-Con 2014, season 3 of the darkly delicious 'Hannibal' will chronicle its title character and Bedelia's new life abroad in early episodes, before returning the focus to Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and the FBI's pursuit of the outed killer. Season 3 will also see Raul Esparza returning (seemingly from the grave) as Dr. Fredrick Chilton, along with Laurence Fishburne's Jack Crawford, Kacey Rohl’s Abigail Hobbs and Eddie Izzard's (deceased) Dr. Abel Gideon

Lest we forget, 'Hannibal' season 3 will also continue the "remix" approach to Thomas Harris' famous novels, spinning aspects of 'Red Dragon,' 'Hannibal Rising' and the literary 'Hannibal' into the story, and introducing the as-yet-uncast roles of "Tooth Fairy" killer Francis Dolarhyde, Italian inspector Rinaldo Pazzi, Mason Verger's physician Cordell and Hannibal's "Aunt" Lady Murasaki. The 2015 premiere will pick up approximately one year after the season 2 finale, with the fourth episode of the new season directly exploring the aftermath of its climax.

'Hannibal' has thrown more than a few curveballs our way before, but what say you? Are you happy to have Gillian Anderson's Bedelia back as a series regular? What do you hope to see when NBC's 'Hannibal' serves up its third course in 2015?