Gillian Anderson Joins NBC’s Hannibal as A Series Regular for Season 3

Gillian Anderson, best known for her role as Dana Scully in The X-Files, will be the latest actor to become a series regular on NBC’s Hannibal.

Introduced in the first season as Hannibal Lecter’s psychiatrist, Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Anderson made the occasional appearance as the character over the course of two seasons, but it’s now confirmed she will be taking on the role full-time in an eagerly awaited third season.

Spoilers from season 2 are listed below:

Hannibal’s season 2 finale was climactic from beginning to end, as Jack Crawford confronted Hannibal Lecter for the crimes he committed as the Chesapeake Ripper and failed in apprehending him, with a whole host of characters’ fates — Will Graham, Abigail Hobbs, Alana Bloom and Jack Crawford — left unanswered following the bloodbath that occurred at the Lecter residence. The final few minutes of the episode closed with Hannibal Lecter and Bedelia Du Maurier flying off to Europe, which is where season 3 will resume from.

Bryan Fuller, developer and writer on NBC’s Hannibal, revealed earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con that there would be some major changes implemented in the show during season 3, including the return of certain characters, introduction of new faces and the course that the story will take with Hannibal now on the run from the FBI.

“The cast and crew of Hannibal are positively giddy to be welcoming Gillian to Season 3 as a series regular,” Fuller told TVLine. “A striking presence on stage and screen, she brings wit, grace and intelligence to every role she embodies. Screenwriting is so much easier when you’re inspired by a great actor and Gillian has filled the Hannibal writers’ room with wonderful inspiration. I can’t wait for audiences to see her make a bigger meal out of the Cannibal than ever before.”

Staring Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Laurence Fishburne and, of course, Gillian Anderson, NBC’s Hannibal is scheduled to return with season 3 in 2015.