Fired ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Michael Pitt Leaves Hannibal After Season 2 Face Off: ‘Across The Universe’ Joe Anderson Replacement Mason Verger Casting Announced After Heroin Addiction Rumors? [SEASON 3] [

Warning The Following Contains Spoilers for Hannibal Season 2 and Boardwalk Empire: Hannibal Seasons 3 is almost here and you can expect to see a few new faces, especially the ones that were carved up and feed to dogs. Recently it was announced that Michael Pitt will not be returning in the role of Mason Verger. Instead the role has been recast with Across the Universe’s Joe Anderson playing the part of the disfigured psychopath. Michael Pitt was a lead on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, before being surprisingly killed off at the end of the second season. Rumor has it that Pitt was fired from Boardwalk Empire for being difficult on the set, as well as suffering from an addiction to heroin. However, these rumors have been denied by the show’s executive producer Terence Winter.

Back in 2011, Boardwalk Empire’s Terence Winter addressed the rumors that Michael Pitt was killed off for being difficult on set, telling Entertainment Weekly:

“[It’s] absolutely not true. Michael is a total professional. He’s intense, of course, but I don’t think you can do that job without being intense.”

Pitt was unceremoniously told about his character’s death, with producer Martin Scorsese sent him an email, instead of the usual phone call. Winter spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about why Pitt didn’t get such an awkward send off:

"Marty was like, 'Let me just e-mail him.' I said: 'We can’t e-mail. We have to have this conversation.' But we couldn’t get him back on the phone. So ultimately, I felt horrible, but I had to send him an e-mail: 'I don’t want you to get the script and read this, but you sort of knew where this was going.' He was totally fine with it."

Pitt’s recasting comes at a perfect time, considering his character Mason Verger just recently cut his own face.

Verger was famously played by Gary Oldman in the 2001 film, Hannibal.

What do you think about the recasting? Are you excited to see Joe Anderson try his hand at the role? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the page.