Ridley Scott spoke to Cinescape contributor Cindy Pearlman for her syndicated column, the director revealed his take on Foster exiting the project, saying, "No hard feelings concerning Jodie. Hannibal the movie picks up 10 years later. The way I'm thinking of it now is that Jodie fulfilled the role of a young Clarice brilliantly. She was the rookie. The innocent. But she can no longer be innocent 10 years later. Julianne is starting off with a fresh canvas."
Regarding the film's script, the director says, "The script is carved in stone right now. It was written by Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) and has been given the blessing by Thomas Harris, the author of the Hannibal book." When asked if the film's finale would be reverting back to that of the book now that Foster is gone, Scott suggests that it's not, adding, "Bits in the third act got a bit tricky."
Regarding the film's script, the director says, "The script is carved in stone right now. It was written by Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) and has been given the blessing by Thomas Harris, the author of the Hannibal book." When asked if the film's finale would be reverting back to that of the book now that Foster is gone, Scott suggests that it's not, adding, "Bits in the third act got a bit tricky."