Denzel Washington reteams with Antoine Fuqua for Netflix Hannibal movie from scribe John Logan

Last Updated on November 21, 2023

Denzel Washington is on a current kick of ancient period pieces as the Academy Award-winning actor recently worked with Joel Coen on Apple’s The Tragedy of Macbeth and is about to pick up filming on the stalled Gladiator 2 film that will have to continue production after repairs are made to the deteriorating sets when it was shut down while the Screen Actors’ Guild went on strike. Deadline has now reported that Denzel will be donning extravagant period clothing yet again for a new Netflix film about the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal.

The new Netflix historical epic will be pairing Denzel back up with his frequent collaborator, Antoine Fuqua. Washington has worked with the director for The Equalizer trilogy, as well as The Magnificent Seven remake and on the film to feature his Oscar-winning performance, Training Day. The script will be written by Gladiator writer John Logan. Fuqua, Washington, Erik Olsen and Adam Goldworm are all on board to produce the film. Jeremy Lott and Frank Moll are slated to executive produce the period piece.

Washington has had his eye on this story for over 20 years. However, at the time, Washington was unable to commit to the grand production as he would not prefer to be away from his family for the extensive period that it would take to make a film such as this. Obviously, now that his children are older, and John David Washington is even carving out his own star in Hollywood films, Denzel can now return to the epic story of the historical figure. Interestingly, Vin Diesel has been vocal about doing his own Hannibal passion project for almost the same length of time. Diesel’s project would meet many logistical concerns and stall multiple times.

According to Deadline, “In this version, the film will follow The film covers the pivotal battles he led against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. The film falls under Fuqua’s production company, Hill District Media’s first look deal with Netflix.”