The rumors are true. According to TV Line, Michael Pitt won't be returning as the creepy Mason Verger for Season 3 of "Hannibal." Sources told the site that the role had been recast to Joe Anderson ("The Crazies" and "Horns").
It's not clear why Pitt won't return to the NBC series but TV Line reports that it wasn't his decision. Earlier this week Verger teased a few photos from the set wearing Verger's makeup. You can check them out below.
Anderson won't be the only new face fans see when the series returns in the spring. TV Line previously reported that producers were casting for a recurring character named Cordell, who will play the "quiet, very intelligent and definitely creepy" personal doctor to Mason.
Cordell was described 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 - and a perfect fit to become his potential henchman."
In October at PaleyFest New York, the cast dished on the third season and dropped a few teases fans can look forward to.
There will be fewer tableaus:
"Season 3 will open with a weird tableau in episode one that gets weirder in episode two, but with the cast in very different places due to the fallout of season two, Hannibal will become a bit more soap operatic - at least until the first half is over," creator Bryan Fuller said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Hannibal and Bedelia's relationship:
"We're not going to give the whole truth away. If you get an explanation for the whole thing, it falls apart," said Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Hannibal Lector.
Second half of season three will explore Red Dragon:
"Fuller is treating the back half of season three like a 'Red Dragon' miniseries, one that's only concerned with a single case," Entertainment Weekly wrote.
"Hannibal" returns for a third season in the spring of 2015 on NBC.
