Hopkins To Feast As Hannibal Again

The actor will reprise his cannibalistic serial killer for the fourth time in a second sequel to the 1991 hit film The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won a Best Actor Oscar.

Hopkins also appeared in 2001's Hannibal before starring in the 2002 prequel Red Dragon.

And actress Cate Blanchett has been tipped to take over the role of Clarice Starling after Jodie Foster pulled out to direct Claire Danes in the forthcoming Flora Plum.

A spokesperson for film-makers Universal says, "Hopkins and Scott are both very committed. We like what we've got, and the revised script is really, really good."