Why Jodie Foster Didn't Return For Hannibal, And Let Julianne Moore Take On Clarice

In our franchise-dominated cinematic landscape, we have become accustomed to seeing one actor play the same part time and time again. It's built into the contract when they sign up for a movie that has the potential to have sequels. They'll sign three, four, five, or even more picture deals that lock them into a franchise, and by the end of that contract, they often find themselves impatiently waiting for that last obligation to come through so they can be free. Or they'll renegotiate and get an influx of cash they cannot turn down.

These multi-picture deals for franchises are relatively new in the Hollywood contract system, and that means we very rarely see parts being recast. It was shocking to see that Sally Hawkins won't be returning to play Mrs. Brown in the forthcoming "Paddington in Peru" because of a scheduling issue. Nowadays, people only get booted from a franchise for being ... well ... a bad person. But there was a time when you would make a movie, and if it was successful and the studio wanted a sequel, they would have to go back and renegotiate with the talent to come back. Sometimes they did, like Tobey Maguire returning for "Spider-Man 2," but sometimes they didn't succeed.

Case in point: "Hannibal," which arrived ten years after "The Silence of the Lambs," winner of the big five awards at the Oscars. Of those winners, the only person to return for the sequel was Anthony Hopkins. Director Jonathan Demme decided not to come back, and neither did two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster. For Foster, it certainly wasn't money that kept her away, as her salary would've been a reported $15 million. Her issues were with the material, though she had another out to couch her criticisms in.

Jodie Foster has spent as much of the last 30 years behind the camera as in front of it. She cares deeply about directing, and one project she had her eye on was called "Flora Plum," a romance set in a 1930s circus from screenwriter Steven Rogers ("Stepmom," "Hope Floats"). She also had her eye on two stars in Claire Danes and Russell Crowe. Actors' schedules can be tricky, and when a space opens up, you have to jump on it, which is what happened with Danes' right around the time "Hannibal" was gearing up to be made. Foster opted to pursue her artistic drive, saying to Total Film in 2005:

"The official reason I didn't do 'Hannibal' is I was doing another movie, 'Flora Plum.' So I get to say, in a nice, dignified way, that I wasn't available when that movie was being shot."

Unfortunately, "Flora Plum" ended up getting shelved after Russell Crowe injured his shoulder training for the circus acts in the film, and it hasn't been taken off the shelf since. Julianne Moore was cast as Clarice Starling in "Hannibal," but Foster seems to feel great about not appearing in the film, going on to say:

"Clarice meant so much to Jonathan [Demme] and I ... and I know it sounds kind of strange to say but there was no way that either of us could really trample on her."

"Hannibal" is a far more lurid and explicit work than "The Silence of the Lambs," which is what turned Jonathan Demme away, and I imagine Foster felt similarly. The film made big money but was disliked by critics, earning zero Oscar nominations. As for what Foster thought of the final film, she said, "I saw 'Hannibal.' I won't comment." That says it all.