Support NeoGAF

[Represent.]

Denzel Washington To Play Hannibal, Carthaginian Warrior Who Attacked Rome Atop Elephant; Reteam With Antoine Fuqua At Netflix With Script By ‘Gladiator’s John Logan

Denzel Washington Carthaginian General Hannibal attacked Rome atop elephant Antoine Fuqua directing Netflix Gladiator screenwriter John Logan

deadline.com

Script By ‘Gladiator’s John Logan
Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike is ending, why not come out with elephant-sized ambition? Netflix has attached Denzel Washington to play the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal in an untitled epic drama that will reteam him with Antoine Fuqua for Netflix. That reunites back star and director who first teamed on 2001’s Training Day — Washington won the Oscar for that turn — and they most recently made the third installment of the Equalizer franchise

Atop an elephant, Hannibal came over the Alps and attacked Rome from the North, who at the time posed the greatest threat to the republic. Hannibal was a skilled military tactician who led the troops in what is now Tunisia, and it is not far from Sicily.

His military victories during the second Punic war are of legend and the story of Hannibal is something Hollywood has been intrigued by for decades — Vin Diesel was attached to a rival pic — and few stars have the bankability to make the costly project worthwhile.

For Washington, the development brings back a project that he wanted to star in over 20 years ago, but Fox wanted to make it at a time when Washington didn't want to be away for an extended period from his kids. They are now making their own paths in Hollywood and so now seems a better time to get so ambitious.

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.

Washington is set to return to production on another major period tentpole with the Ridley Gladiator 2, set to restart production shortly with the SAG strike ending and dated for Thanksgiving, 2024.

Lets fucking go! The Hannibal story is legendary, I've been waiting for like 15 years for Hollywood to make an adaptation. Couldnt be more excited tbh. I remember the rumors going back for decades. Fucking finally.

 

[Billbofet]

I am down for almost anything with Denzel. This sounds great and with an excellent choice to direct for a story like this.

 

[KyoZz]

Interesting. With this, the new Gladiator and the come back of Spartacus, I think we can say the Peplum is making a come back and I love it.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Do you think they'll use real elephants, or CGI

 

[Represent.]

Do you think they'll use real elephants, or CGI

most likely a mix of both

 

[DeafTourette]

This gives me hope for the future of Hollywood!

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Denzel Washington is 68 years old.

 

[DeafTourette]

Denzel Washington is 68 years old.

And yet he doesn't look it when he's on camera.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Vin Diesel must be crying after these news.

 

[IDKFA]

Hannibal was a lot younger and was also Phoenician.

Fuck, please can we stop race swapping historical figures?!

 

[DeafTourette]

Hannibal was a lot younger and was also Phoenician.

Fuck, please can we stop race swapping historical figures?!

Per historian Patrick Hunt:

"Regarding his DNA, as far as we know, we have no skeleton, fragmentary bones, or physical traces of him, so establishing his ethnicity would be mostly speculative. From what we think we know about his family ancestry, however, his Barcid family (if that’s even the right name) has been generally understood as descending from Phoenician aristocracy. ...[so] his original ancestry would be located in what is modern Lebanon today. As far as we know, little to no Africanization—if that is an acceptable term—happened there in that region before or during his era. On the other hand, since the Phoenicians arrived and then later settled in what is now Tunisia... almost 1,000 years before Hannibal, it is very possible his family had intermixed in DNA with peoples then living in North Africa....we shouldn’t deny any possible Africanization of the region of Carthage."

Was Hannibal, Enemy of Ancient Rome, Black?

The answer to "Was Hannibal Adrican?" depends on what you mean by Black—whether you equate it with being African, a nuance thereof, or something else.

www.thoughtco.com

 

[Atrus]

Per historian Patrick Hunt:

"Regarding his DNA, as far as we know, we have no skeleton, fragmentary bones, or physical traces of him, so establishing his ethnicity would be mostly speculative. From what we think we know about his family ancestry, however, his Barcid family (if that’s even the right name) has been generally understood as descending from Phoenician aristocracy. ...[so] his original ancestry would be located in what is modern Lebanon today. As far as we know, little to no Africanization—if that is an acceptable term—happened there in that region before or during his era. On the other hand, since the Phoenicians arrived and then later settled in what is now Tunisia... almost 1,000 years before Hannibal, it is very possible his family had intermixed in DNA with peoples then living in North Africa....we shouldn’t deny any possible Africanization of the region of Carthage."

Was Hannibal, Enemy of Ancient Rome, Black?

The answer to "Was Hannibal Adrican?" depends on what you mean by Black—whether you equate it with being African, a nuance thereof, or something else.

www.thoughtco.com

Denzel Washington is Black. Hannibal Barca was not. Africanization does not mean Black.

 

[DeafTourette]

Denzel Washington is Black. Hannibal Barca was not. Africanization does not mean Black.

Ok. I'm not arguing over this. I presented information you obviously don't agree with. The fact is, no one knows what color his skin was. We can only guess. There's no DNA to say otherwise. But he was born in North Africa...

I'm done.

 

[SJRB]

meme -> Netflix -> meme -> Netflix


The ride never ends.

 

[Hudo]

Love me some movies where Rome (even if it's just the republic) is kicking some ass.

 

[Dr.D00p]

He will probably get one of his men to start counting in seconds as the battle begins and report back to him how long it took to win...

 

[IDKFA]

Denzel Washington is Black. Hannibal Barca was not. Africanization does not mean Black.

Correct. Although we can't study his DNA, it's unlikely Hannibal was black and even more unlikely he was white.

This is the Capuan bust. Although there is debate over this, it's still regarded as the best-known image of Hannibal.

Another reason this is frustrating is because this could have been a great opportunity for an unknown actor from the region of Phoenician descent to play Hannibal. People of the Middle East have been shat on by Hollywood for too long where their historical figures are picked up by white and black actors. It's time to put these people and their history in the spotlight for once.

This production could have gone further and used the language of the period rather than English and shown Hannibal, the Carthaginian city state and Rome as not stereotypical heroes or villains.

Instead, we'll have an American playing Hannibal, speaking in English and portraying the Carthaginian leader as some sort of hero against an oppressive Rome.

 

[Roll Fizzlebeef]

I hope this will spark conversation for people to learn about the actual historical inhabitants of the regions. I wanted to know more before all the race debates start, and now i know a lot more about the Amazigh, who are very diverse as it is.

Modern politics and media tries to make everything black and white, so many ethnic groups get lumped into one or the other, when they deserve just as much recognition for being who they are.

Im sure Denzel will do a great job, but would have been cool for them to have cast either a lebanese or amazigh actor if they could find one.

 

[Toots]

"You know what Rome smells like Jake ? It smells like olive oil."

 

[March Climber]

Hannibal was a lot younger and was also Phoenician.

Fuck, please can we stop race swapping historical figures?!

It was either Denzel or Vin Diesel. They have both been begging for this role for 20+ years before a subsection of the internet even knew or cared about race swapping in cinema.

They both really wanted to act out the role. That was all there was to it.

Denzel Washington is 68 years old.

And he is still amazing

 

[kruis]

Ok. I'm not arguing over this. I presented information you obviously don't agree with. The fact is, no one knows what color his skin was. We can only guess. There's no DNA to say otherwise. But he was born in North Africa...

I'm done.

North Africans aren't black, sub Sahara Africans are.

 

[Zathalus]

This production could have gone further and used the language of the period rather than English and shown Hannibal, the Carthaginian city state and Rome as not stereotypical heroes or villains.

Instead, we'll have an American playing Hannibal, speaking in English and portraying the Carthaginian leader as some sort of hero against an oppressive Rome.

It's called making money. No studio is going to bankroll a high production movie that is not English and staring an unknown actor depicting Hannibal.

 

[SJRB]

This should've been Ryan Gosling and we all know it.

 

[IDKFA]

It's called making money. No studio is going to bankroll a high production movie that is not English and staring an unknown actor depicting Hannibal.

Disagree. Passion of the Christ wasn't in English and didn't have an a list actor in the main role. It made over 600 million at the global box office.

Speaking of Passion, this is another film that failed at accurately portraying the title character. Regardless what you believe, there is clear evidence Jesus was a real person, but he wouldn't have been white like Jim Caviezel.

 

[Zathalus]

Disagree. Passion of the Christ wasn't in English and didn't have an a list actor in the main role. It made over 600 million at the global box office.

Speaking of Passion, this is another film that failed at accurately portraying the title character. Regardless what you believe, there is clear evidence Jesus was a real person, but he wouldn't have been white like Jim Caviezel.

Passion of the Christ made that amount of money because of the discussion around the movie regarding the religious experience it offered, the violence against Jesus in the movie, and the potential antisemitism in it. It even got parodied on South Park. A movie about Hannibal is not going to spark the same amount of interest.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Hannibal is about as black as Cleopatra was

Oh right I forgot, that Cleopatra "documentary" where she was changed from Ptolemaic Greek to black was a Netflix thing too. So this is exactly on brand for them

 

[DGrayson]

I was like:

Denzel ... YES

Antoine Fuqua ... YES

Netflix ... FUCK

 

[IDKFA]

Passion of the Christ made that amount of money because of the discussion around the movie regarding the religious experience it offered, the violence against Jesus in the movie, and the potential antisemitism in it. It even got parodied on South Park. A movie about Hannibal is not going to spark the same amount of interest.

Again, disagree. Hannibal may not be as well known as Jesus, but he is still one of the best known figures from Roman history.

This a man that crossed the Alps with elephants. Crushed Rome in some of the most brutal battles in history and lost all the gains only to get his ass kicked at Zama. It would have a lot of interest and people wouldn't be turned off because it's not in English.

 

[Bojji]

Ok. I'm not arguing over this. I presented information you obviously don't agree with. The fact is, no one knows what color his skin was. We can only guess. There's no DNA to say otherwise. But he was born in North Africa...

I'm done.

Majority of north Africans aren't black.

I love Denzel Washington but this is clearly a race swap. But I least I know Hannibal character will be played by a good actor.

 

[winjer]

Carthage is in modern day Tunisia, a country that is 98% Ethnic Arab. Yes, it has some black people there, but it's a very small minority.
And the whole Carthaginian empire was in North Africa and a part of Europe. Not sub-Saharan Africa.
Havin Denzel Washington makes no sense for historical accuracy. It's obviously only for modern day identity politics. Again.

It really staggers me how these people are so stupid, constantly trying to turn other races into black, when there are several real historical characters or empires that never got any attention.
For example, the Empire of Mali and Mansa Musa. The richest man that ever lived, with real wealth, of gold, precious stones, land, etc. Not bitcoin and speculative assets.
Or the Empire of Aksum, one of the big 4 empires of it's age, along side with the Roman Empire, China and Persia.
Or the Empire of Nubia. They even had queens, like Amanitore.
There is so much untapped potential in African history, that is being ignored, because of sheer stupidity.

 

[Alx]

Carthage is in modern day Tunisia, a country that is 98% Ethnic Arab. Yes, it has some black people there, but it's a very small minority.

It is now, but the Arabs only conquered the place in the 7th century, so 9 centuries after Hannibal's existence.
I find it funny that there's apparently no record of his skin tone while he's one of the most famous man of his time. Another opportunity to remember that the whole "white vs black vs whatever" obsession didn't exist back then (not that there was no xenophobia, but it wasn't based on skin color).

 

[winjer]

It is now, but the Arabs only conquered the place in the 7th century, so 9 centuries after Hannibal's existence.
I find it funny that there's apparently no record of his skin tone while he's one of the most famous man of his time. Another opportunity to remember that the whole "white vs black vs whatever" obsession didn't exist back then (not that there was no xenophobia, but it wasn't based on skin color).

The reason for people in North Africa having a skin tone is not due to migration from Europe. It's because of adaptation to the climate.
Skin tone in humans is correlated to sun exposure in each areal. It's an adaptation to protect ourselves.
Remember that humans came from Africa, but became lighter in skin tone, as they settled in regions with higher latitude.
No one eliminated black people from North Africa, Europe or Asia. Their skin tone just adapted to the environment.

 

[kruis]

It is now, but the Arabs only conquered the place in the 7th century, so 9 centuries after Hannibal's existence.
I find it funny that there's apparently no record of his skin tone while he's one of the most famous man of his time. Another opportunity to remember that the whole "white vs black vs whatever" obsession didn't exist back then (not that there was no xenophobia, but it wasn't based on skin color).

Or the Carthagenians didn't look that much different from other peoples who lived along the Mediterranean Sea like the Romans, the Greeks and the Berbers.

 

[winjer]

Or the Carthagenians didn't look that much different from other peoples who lived along the Mediterranean Sea like the Romans, the Greeks and the Berbers.

Exactly. And the fact that there is no mention of Anibal's skin color is an indication that he looked similar to Romans.
When Romans encountered people with different traits, they frequently mentioned it. For example, that Germanics were taller and stronger. Or that sub-Saharan people had dark skin.

 

[DrFigs]

Carthage is in modern day Tunisia, a country that is 98% Ethnic Arab. Yes, it has some black people there, but it's a very small minority.
And the whole Carthaginian empire was in North Africa and a part of Europe. Not sub-Saharan Africa.
Havin Denzel Washington makes no sense for historical accuracy. It's obviously only for modern day identity politics. Again.

It really staggers me how these people are so stupid, constantly trying to turn other races into black, when there are several real historical characters or empires that never got any attention.
For example, the Empire of Mali and Mansa Musa. The richest man that ever lived, with real wealth, of gold, precious stones, land, etc. Not bitcoin and speculative assets.
Or the Empire of Aksum, one of the big 4 empires of it's age, along side with the Roman Empire, China and Persia.
Or the Empire of Nubia. They even had queens, like Amanitore.
There is so much untapped potential in African history, that is being ignored, because of sheer stupidity.

I guess we have the Woman King. where they took actual history and then made the slavers the good guys

 

[FunkMiller]

Any argument over race swapping ends with the fact this is fucking Denzel we're talking about. One of the last truly great actors with gravitas in absolute fucking buckets. You want a Hannibal like that? Or some piss weasel white boy who can't portray Hannibal's greatness at all, but might look more like the historical norm?

 

[violence]

He’s from Africa so he black obviously.

 

[DrFigs]

Any argument over race swapping ends with the fact this is fucking Denzel we're talking about. One of the last truly great actors with gravitas in absolute fucking buckets. You want a Hannibal like that? Or some piss weasel white boy who can't portray Hannibal's greatness at all, but might look more like the historical norm?

idk at 68, yeah i think they could have found someone more appropriate for the role.

 

[FunkMiller]

idk at 68, yeah i think they could have found someone more appropriate for the role.

It's fine. They'll cgi out those wrinkles, and Barca died in his mid sixties, so it'll fit by the the time they get to the climax.

 

[JCK75]

Denzel is one of my favorite actors, but it's a very strange decision.

 

[AJUMP23]

Cato - Carthago delenda est

 

[jason10mm]

I think this film seeing the light of day is gonna depend heavily on how well Napolean does. I WANT this, though Fuqua isn't the deepest director out there, but he has the basic skills down well. Having an older actor play Hannibal gives me hope it is a more cerebral take and not just 2 hours of shoddy CGI battles. I want there to be just a few HARD HITTING battles, and when Carthage is destroyed (spoilers) and the earth salted I wanna be crying.

Plus I hope they go deep into Dagon worship or whatever the fuck those pagan degenerates were into

 

[Hardensoul]

Denzel is one of my favorite actors, but it's a very strange decision.

I feel the same, what an odd casting. Par for the course, for Netflix shows. It’s set in Africa everyone must be black!

 

[belmarduk]

Awesome!
I love historical epics and Washington is a fine actor.
Looking forward to this!

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It was either Denzel or Vin Diesel. They have both been begging for this role for 20+ years before a subsection of the internet even knew or cared about race swapping in cinema.

They both really wanted to act out the role. That was all there was to it.


And he is still amazing

He's still amazing but he's very clearly not 30 years old anymore. I found the weakest part of The Equalizer movies were him setting his watch and taking out 7 thugs in 30 seconds. I suppose this could work if it's like that Will Smith CGI clone movie from a few years back.

 

[IDKFA]

You want a Hannibal like that? Or some piss weasel white boy who can't portray Hannibal's greatness at all, but might look more like the historical norm?

No, because Hannibal wasn't white, so that also wouldn't be an accurate portrayal. Somebody like Benedict Cumberbatch would also be a complete miscast in this role.

I'd rather see a relatively unknown actor from the middle east, specifically somebody from around Lebanon.

Plus I hope they go deep into Dagon worship or whatever the fuck those pagan degenerates were into

They sacrificed children, but there is no way Netflix have the balls to show that side of Carthage.

 

[Krappadizzle]

It's always a toss up to me on if my favorite actor is Denzel Washington or Tom Hanks. Either way, I'm down.

Though does it seem like Denzel's been taking on roles that kind of seem out of his normal wheelhouse? When I saw Equalizer 2 I felt like Denzel Washington is going down the path of Bruce Willis of oddly lower caliber movie(s) than the actor should really be in... Still, I'm down for the general principle and I hope it's great.

 

[EviLore]

 

[violence]

Could’ve been cool. When they do stuff like this, it makes period pieces feel like modern day. I guess I’ll stick with my hard-core history podcasts.

 

[mansoor1980]