Silence of the Lambs Sequel Series Clarice Adds Watchmen and The Punisher Stars

The adventures of Clarice Starling will be continued in a sequel TV series to The Silence of the Lambs, with CBS' Clarice adding more stars to its cast, including The Punisher's Lucca De Oliveira and Watchmen's Devyn A. Tyler, according to Deadline. The series has also scored Star Trek: Picard director Maja Vrvilo to helm the pilot. Last month, it was announced that The Originals star Rebecca Breeds was set to star as Clarice Starling in the pilot, a role that was previously played by Jodie Foster in the 1991 film and by Julianne Moore in the movie's 2001 sequel Hannibal.

The series is described, "Clarice is set in 1993, a year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs. The series is a deep dive into the untold personal story of Clarice Starling (Breeds), as she returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C. Brilliant and vulnerable, Clarice (Breeds) graduated Magna from UVA with a double major in Psych and Criminology. Her bravery gives her an inner light that draws monsters and madmen to her. Her complex psychological makeup comes from a challenging childhood, and her drive comes from her need to escape the burden of family secrets that have haunted her throughout her life."

De Oliveira is set to play Tomas Esquivel, "who attended Dartmouth on an ROTC scholarship and became a counter-sniper during Operation Desert Storm. He is initially suspicious of Clarice, and her singular background in the Bureau. Esquivel has gone through his own kind of hazing, and is torn between his love of service, and his belief that the FBI needs to shake off its 'Old School' mentality."

Tyler will be playing Ardelia Mapp, "Clarice's closest friend and her roommate at the FBI Academy. Ardelia is brilliant and has developed strong coping mechanisms as a black woman working in the white male universe of the FBI. Ardelia has landed at the Department of Justice where she is an Asst. U.S. Attorney. She is vocal and open about the discrimination that's rampant in the Bureau and in the D.O.J."

The characters are inspired by Thomas Harris' series of novels, which kicked off with Red Dragon in 1981, seeing detective Will Graham investigating a serial killer, enlisting the expertise of Lecter to shed light on the killer's twisted psyche. In addition to a number of films, the series also inspired the TV series Hannibal, with Mads Mikkelsen taking on the titular role.

Stay tuned for details on Clarice.

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