Ridley is bitten by Hannibal

I've not made a sequel before. But that's not by design.

As a director, you're always hunting for material - great stories that let you work with great collaborators. But I never came across that combination in a sequel until now.

Of course, film-makers are always looking for a great story. Even when they're preoccupied. When Dino De Laurentiis gave me the novel of Hannibal, I was smack in the middle of another film and didn't think I'd have time to read the 600-page manuscript.

Surprise, surprise - I read it in three sittings. I loved the density of the story and characters. I liked the fact that it not only took place ten years later, but that it was also written ten years later. For me, it made it totally distinct from Silence Of The Lambs.

I'd also wanted to work with Anthony Hopkins for ages. Who wouldn't? He created this character and won an Oscar for his efforts.

But I still felt there was more to Lecter that needed to be explored, things which didn't fit the first film. Like Nosferatu, Lecter is charming and seductive while he's terrorising you. And there's a perverse curiosity that makes us want to know what makes him tick. This movie gives the opportunity to catch up with him a decade later and explore that uncharted territory.

If audiences feel Hannibal comes up to the level of Silence Of The Lambs, I'd be happy. But I could be happier still, because I'm also competitive at heart... I'm hoping you might even find it more interesting than its predecessor.