'Clarice' series will explore 7-year gap between Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal

Over the weekend, we got the bone-chilling news that FBI agent Clarice Starling would return in a Silence of the Lambs spinoff from Star Trek: Discovery vets Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. CBS has already given a full series commitment to the project, which is simply entitled Clarice.

Speaking with SYFY WIRE, Kurtzman teased the show, which he promised would explore what happened to Agent Starling between the events of 1991's Silence (where she was played by Jodie Foster) and 2001's Hannibal (where Foster was replaced by Julianne Moore).

"Jenny and I have loved Clarice for a long time. About a year ago, we looked at each other and we said, ’Where is she? This is one of the greatest heroes ever in the history of film, what happened to her?’" Kurtzman said. "It’s interesting because if you look at Clarice from Silence of the Lambs and then you look at her in Hannibal, there’s a seven-year gap and she’s somewhat different. What happened to her after The Silence of the Lambs?"

Still emotionally scarred from her time spent tracking down Buffalo Bill, Starling also has the challenge of overcoming the male-dominated world that is Washington D.C. in the early '90s.

"What’s interesting is that she’s still dealing with a lot of that trauma, and no one ever really explored that in a story before. And that’s what really excites us," continued Kurtzman. "Plus, being a woman in 1993, talk about being a man’s world. She is in a real boys’ club, and I think one of the great things about that film is how beautifully it portrayed the challenges and difficulties, but also this woman’s extraordinary endurance. She was smarter, she was better, and you love her. So we can’t wait [to get started on that]."

There's no word on when Clarice will cast its lead or kick off production, but we'll be sure to keep you updated on all the announcements for the show. For now, just kick back, relax, pop open a nice bottle of Chianti, and shovel down a side of fava beans with a nice slice of human flesh.