Joe Anderson cast as Mason Verger, replacing Michael Pitt for ‘Hannibal’ season 3
The third season of Hannibal has undergone a shocking casting move as Mason Verger has been recast with Michael Pitt not returning to the hit show. Joe Anderson will fill the role, according to TVLine. Now the actor shares a sneak peak look at his Verger make-up.
“The actor, who played sociopathic meat-packing magnate Mason Verger in Season 2, is not returning to the series and will be replaced by Joe Anderson (The Divide, The River),” TVLine reported.
Hannibal Season 3 will be introducing the recurring character of Cordell, a “quiet, very intelligent and definitely creepy” man who acts as the personal doctor to Verger, so that gives us a brief idea of where his character will be when things pick back up, according the recent reports.
“The recast comes at a fairly convenient time in Mason’s story arc: When we last saw him, he was under the influence of Dr. Lecter’s hallucinogenic drugs, and being led by the titular serial killer to carve off chunks of his own face to feed to himself and nemesis Will Graham’s dogs,” TVLine says.
Collider noted that “Pitt’s performance was pretty spot on for the character, so I’m fairly disappointed by this news; I was really looking forward to seeing how his iteration of the character would develop. Nevertheless, Hannibal is one of my favorite shows on television and I’m still eager to see where (Bryan) Fuller takes things in Season 3.”
Anderson has posted a photo of himself on Instagram in full Mason Verger regalia.