Hannibal Lecter prequel will be faithful to book: director
Red Dragon director Brett Ratner says his movie will be faithful to Thomas Harris's book.
Ratner says the film's ending will be similar to that of the bestseller.
He says Anthony Hopkins has been working out in preparation for his return to the role of Hannibal Lecter.
The novel Red Dragon, which marked the debut of Lecter, was originally adapted for the 1986 film Manhunter but Ratner is bringing what he feels is a more honest version to the screen.
He said: "Manhunter was cool when it came out, but my script is written by Ted Tally, who won the Academy Award for writing Silence Of The Lambs. He didn't write Manhunter or Hannibal.
"This is really inspired by the book and it's way closer to the book than Manhunter. Manhunter was kind of inspired by Red Dragon the book. Red Dragon the movie is literally an interpretation of the book.
"Manhunter, I think they even changed the name because it wasn't close to what the book was. And it ends more like the book. The end of Manhunter had nothing to do with the book at all."
Ratner added: "Anthony Hopkins is on a workout regimen. He's lost 20 pounds. He's back to the weight that he was when he did Silence Of The Lambs."
The film is expected to hit Irish screens later this year.
