My guess would be that maybe he's somewhere doing research on other cannibals. It excited him, and he finds out what the mask is for and he puts it on to feel like one of them. I'm sure it will all be explained when the film comes out...if not then what the hell.

That was pissing my off as well, if there is a decent reason cool, but I am going to find any reason hard to swallow. It's not like his trademark like Michael Myers or Jason, it's just what they had to put on him when he was incarcerated...and am I the only one that thinks this new guy looks NOTHING like Anthony Hopkins? I understand that it's hard to cast someone in a prequel, but come on! This guy looks completely different.

I like "Rotten's" answer!!! I almost walked out of Hannibal (I should have) in the theater and I saw an advance of Red Dragon (Cause I'd never paid a cent to help Ratner's career.) So fuck it...I'm skipping this one.

To be honest, I'm not bothered about the mask, I want to know why Hannibal has red/brown eyes in the poster (in canon with the books and hannibal poster) but the lead actor playing hannibal has big shiny blue eyes. Fuck the mask, Thomas Harris probably just thought up some way of using in order to get the book on shelves before Christmas.

I was actually thinking of the same thing. Why does he have a mask? It's not his trademark, as you said. I think this will flop just as much as the others, probably even more. But we'll see.

Actually, the mask is a story element in the film. It belongs to the ancestor of a Japanese woman who essentially becomes Hannibal's love interest. The mask is part of a set of Japanese armor. In the novel, Hannibal actually doesn't wear the mask, but rather uses the armor's sword to dispatch a victim. Not sure how the mask is worked into the film.

It's mask from samurai armor, like C.W.M said. Look teaser again and watch every frame carefully, especially these with armor and mask...

u guys are pissed off about the mask and here i am dying to know what those words mean? i dont care for the mask.. its a prequel, probably use it earlier in his life and then ditched it.

Maybe you should just wait and go see the movie

Does it really matter. You know it's going to suck anyways. Something like this should go straight to video.

Here's an idea: Read the book before you start pissing your pants!

He's the happy go lucky prankster Hannibal we have yet to meet from the previous flicks! Oh that crazy Hannibal up to his foolish ways again putting on silly masks just for the hell of it. Boys will be boys! I think Borat is also in this flick!

LOL, you have to be kidding, thats the worst poster ever. it looks so goofy and amateurish. i cant imagine any serious horror fans paying to see this shit after seeing that stupid poster

So, the movie will suck because you don't like the poster...jesus s and Mr. Disgusting - not only did you succeed in stirring up a couple idiots on the internet, but you also won the blue ribbon for creating the most useless article of the day.

I also think it's strange that he would be putting on a mask like that way before that part in the story. I'm sure they'll talk about it in the movie though, I hated the sequels.

To Jay: Usueless article of the day for Saturday now posted, Thomas Harris' book a piece o shite? I think so...

I mentioned before how awful Hannibal the movie was in comparison with Hannibal the book... But as Mr. D readily admits, he never read Hannibal Rising... So why not read it and see if there's any basis for the mask before jumping all over it? (In Mr D's defense he's prob right and it's prob a POS movie... but it's good to know what you're talking about too). And I liked Red Dragon the book and movie. :P

Mr. D says "Thomas Harris' book a piece o shite? I think so..." But he really doesn't. Entertainment Weekly told him what to think. There is a difference. Opinions are great when they're educated, otherwise they're "like assholes, everybody's got one".

Mr.D, Why don't you just read the book? This article along with the one about the Hills have Eyes 2 poster are useless.

if you watch the trailer closely you'll see a set of samuri armour, the mask is part of the armour. the samuri would where the asks of deonic faces to sa=care there enemy's, probably the same thing with a young lector.

You see, if you had read the book, you'd know that the mask he puts on Lady Murasaki's ancestor's samuri armor that you see. It's not the mask that they put on him to stop him biting people. And I think you'll find that his cannibal mask is a very strong symbol for his character. If you ask anyone to say the first thing that comes to their mind from the Hannibal films, they'd probably say the mask. It's even sold all over the world for a halloween mask, with the label "Hannibal Lecter Mask".

Look... you should really just read the book first before comming to your conclusions. Actually... all the books are 100 times better than the movies. I have to admit that I'm a little excited about the movie but I doubt that they'll do the book justice due to the complete and total butchering of the Hannibal. Though it must have been hard to create the movie due to the complexities of the book. My main hope is that they can create a good transition between the young Hannibal and the old and keep to the book as much as possible.

what up horror movies are crazy but like movies

Dito Dito Dito. Read the book. If you had read the books you would know a lot more about all of the Characters throughout the whole series. Will Graham,Clarice Starling and Frances Dolarhide are infinitely more interesting as are Hannibal and Buffalo Bill when you read the books and know what they are thinking as well.

The first comment that had brought upon all these comments is simply "stupid". Latrodectus hit it right on the nail with their rebuttal. Assumption is the mother of all @#$%-ups. Think before you speak (or type).