The film is an adaptation of Thomas Harris' 2006 novel of the same name and tells the story of Lecter's evolution from a vengeful Nazi hunter into a cannibalistic serial killer.

The film was directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Harris, and stars Gaspard Ulliel as the title character with additional roles played by Gong Li, Rhys Ifans and Dominic West.

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union turns the Baltic region into part of the bloodiest front line of World War II.

Lecter, his younger sister Mischa, and their parents travel to the family's hunting lodge in the woods to elude the advancing German troops.

Finding no other food in the bitterly cold Baltic winter, the men look menacingly at Lecter and Mischa with Vladis stating "we must eat or die".

After dealing violently with a bully, Lecter escapes from the orphanage to Paris to live with his widowed aunt, Lady Murasaki, who teaches him Japanese martial arts including Kenjutsu.

In a final confrontation, Grutas claims that Lecter had also consumed his sister in broth fed to him by the soldiers and he was killing them to keep this fact secret.

The screenplay for Hannibal Rising was written by Thomas Harris, based on his novel of the same name, published in December 2006, two months before the film's release.

[10] Recalling that conversation with De Laurentiis in a 2019 interview for The New York Times, Harris said, "He did have continuation rights to the character and could have done whatever he wanted to.

[12] On 2 November 2004, Variety reported that Peter Webber had been hired to direct the film, and that production was expected to begin in May 2005 for a summer 2006 release.

[16] Hugh Dancy, Macaulay Culkin, Dominic Cooper, and Tom Payne[17] auditioned for the role of Hannibal Lecter.

[19] Li almost lost out on the role of Hannibal's Japanese aunt (by marriage) Lady Murasaki, due to scheduling conflicts with Miami Vice (2006).

[23] Ulliel auditioned for Hannibal Rising after Dino De Laurentiis saw him in the 2004 French film A Very Long Engagement.

'", De Laurentiis said in the film's press kit, and director Peter Webber added: "It comes down to a gut feeling.

"[20] Ulliel was at a dinner in Paris when he met French producer Tarak Ben Ammar, who talked about this project to him, then he received the screenplay a few days later.

[27] For the role of Vladis Grutas, Webber said he was looking at more obvious choices to play "bad guys", until Welsh actor Rhys Ifans came in and surprised him.

Ménochet initially believed that he had gotten the role because he had met the director and auditioned for the film, but he later found out that it was Ulliel who supported the idea.

Ménochet said that acting in an international film like Hannibal Rising opened doors for him and gave him the opportunity to meet people and have access to auditions.

[31] Ulliel said he did not want to try to copy or imitate Anthony Hopkins, so he tried to work on his own by reading books and watching other films.

[25] Ulliel prepared for the role by reading all of the previous three books on Hannibal Lecter written by Thomas Harris.

[32][33] Ulliel said he watched the autopsies for the last three days of the last week of the class,[24] when the bodies were "completely destroyed" and looked "fake", so it was not scary.

[34] Ulliel then asked to go back on the first day of the next class to see the fresh bodies being opened, but it did not happen due to his busy schedule.

[35][36] Ulliel had only a month and a half of coaching in English before shooting began, as filming had to be quick to fit in with the time that Gong Li had available.

[36] For the sword fight scene, Ulliel practiced for a week with a kendo teacher and actress Gong Li.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Hannibal Rising reduces the horror icon to a collection of dime-store psychological traits.

"[44] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 35 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

In particular, Gaspard Ulliel in the lead role is impressive, suggesting the mannerisms of Hopkins' Lecter while clearly avoiding an outright impersonation.

His Lecter is still young and inexperienced, but demonstrates the seed of something sinister--it is easy to see how the character's role as a misguided avenging angel will eventually lead to his fall from grace.

That said, his performance is so mannered and controlled that one wants to open a window after a while and let in some life," and that Gong Li "is alluring and attractive in her seductively colourful bathrobes, but the love interest between her and the younger Ulliel has an incestuous quality that's decidedly unpleasant.

[52] The DVD extras include an unrated version of the film, audio commentary by director Peter Webber and producer Martha De Laurentiis, five deleted scenes with optional commentary from the director, promo spots, and a 16-minute featurette titled "Hannibal Lecter: The Origin Of Evil", featuring interviews with the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage.