Update: we have just learned definitively from a source close to del Toro that the news of him directing upcoming episodes of Hannibal's third season is false. Wishful thinking, or April Fools? (although the info broke last night).

Read our original piece as an "if only!" take:

We’re currently looking at a little over two months before the premiere of Hannibal Season 3, and news this morning makes us already itching to see the end of the new season. ShockTilYouDrop.com reports that Guillermo del Toro, the master behind Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, and The Devil’s Backbone, to say nothing of the Hellboy films, will be directing on of the last three episodes of Hannibal Season 3. The remaining two episodes of the final three will be helmed by regular series directors Michael Rymer and Guillermo Navarro, which adds them to a list of filmmakers including Vincenzo Natali (Splice, Cube) and Neil Marshall (The Descent). Early reports confirm that Marshall, who has flourished as a television director, will helm the eighth episode, which introduces Francis Dollarhyde, the serial family killer known as The Tooth Fairy in Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon and, more importantly, Michael Mann’s brilliant Manhunter.

hannibal-season-2-finale-caroline-dhavernas

There’s no word as to what del Toro’s episode will cover but anyone familiar with the filmmaker, or the trailer for his upcoming Crimson Peak, will no doubt see the promise of his visual touch being melded to show creator Bryan Fuller’s tone and material. And considering how season 2 ended, Hannibal Season 3 is ramping up to be one of the most overall promising seasons of television for 2015, especially with the specter of the The Tooth Fairy storyline hanging over the season. Richard Armitage (The Hobbit franchise) is set to play Dollarhyde, with Zachary Quinto, Nina Arianda, and Joe Anderson also joining the cast in a variety of supporting roles; Anderson is replacing Michael Pitt as the disfigured Mason Verger. Big names, to be sure, but the addition of del Toro to the directors list is the most exhilarating news to pop up regarding Hannibal Season 3 to date.

hannibal-season-3-poster-mads-mikkelsen