AceShowbiz -

There's a change in the cast line-up of "Hannibal" season 3. Michael Pitt, who played sociopathic meat-packing magnate Mason Verger in season 2, will not return for the upcoming installment and will be replaced by Joe Anderson ("The Divide", "The River").

TVLine reports it's the actor's decision not to return, but it's unclear why Pitt, who is known for his role in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" and as Jimmy Darmody on HBO's series "Boardwalk Empire", exited the show.

It may not be hard for the NBC series to convey Pitt's departure since the last time fans saw Mason, he was under the influence of Dr. Lecter's hallucinogenic drugs and was told by the title character to cut off pieces of his own face to feed to himself and nemesis Will Graham's dogs.

Anderson has confirmed his casting by posting on Instagram a picture of him in his Mason Verger makeup.

The new season of "Hannibal", set to air in 2015, will also introduce a new recurring character named Cordell, the "quiet, very intelligent and definitely creepy" personal doctor to Mason. He is described as "attentive and gentle with Mason, a professional who cares about his work, but we get a sense he might be as sadistic as his boss - and a perfect fit to become his potential henchman."