One of the Hannibal -verse's most famous killers (along with, of course, The Silence of the Lambs' "Buffalo Bill") is headed to Hannibal: Season 3.

Francis Dolarhyde is going to be a real *Thorin* Hannibal's side. Ok... we'll stop.



— Hannibal (@NBCHannibal) January 13, 2015

Richard Armitage.

Yes, the role of Francis Dolarhyde - aka the "Tooth Fairy" - will be played by Hobbit franchise star Richard Armitage, reports The Wrap. The sadistic Dolarhyde serial killer character comes from Thomas Harris' Red Dragon novel, and has been portrayed on screen before by actors Tom Noonan (in Michael Mann's Manhunter) and by Ralph Fiennes (in 2002's Red Dragon).While Season 3 isn't meant to play out as the the Hannibal TV series' "Red Dragon" season (that would be Season 4, if all goes according to creator Bryan Fuller's plan), Dolarhyde will be introduced in person this year. I write "in person," because Fuller has already stated ( on Twitter ) that the home invasion Marlowe murders that Will Graham was using as a teaching tool in the pilot episode were actually committed by Dolarhyde. So Dolarhyde coming in allows the show to circle back to that, for those wondering if that loose thread would ever get snipped.Last summer, at the San Diego Comic Con, Fuller mentioned that Dolarhyde was coming in Season 3, and that he'd debut in Episode 8.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/Showrenity