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EXCLUSIVE: Following the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Netflix has attached Denzel Washington to play the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal in an untitled epic drama, reteaming him with director Antoine Fuqua. This reunites the star and director who first teamed on 2001’s Training Day — a collaboration that won Washington an Oscar — and most recently worked on the third installment of the Equalizer franchise.
John Logan, the three-time Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Aviator and Hugo, known for his work on Gladiator, is writing the script. Fuqua, Washington, Erik Olsen, and Adam Goldworm will produce, with Jeremy Lott and Frank Moll as executive producers.
This project brings Washington back to a film he wanted to star in more than 20 years ago. It is now the right time to pursue such an ambitious project, as his children are establishing their own paths in Hollywood.
The film will follow the pivotal battles Hannibal led against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.). It falls under Fuqua’s production company, Hill District Media’s, first-look deal with Netflix.
Washington is also set to return to production on another major period tentpole with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, scheduled to restart production shortly and due for release on Thanksgiving 2024.
Washington is represented by WME, and Fuqua is represented by LBI Entertainment and WME.
