Denzel Washington
Star plays the ancient military leader Hannibal
Denzel Washington (r.) and Antoine Fuqua can look back on several successful collaborations.
© imago/Future Image
Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua team up again – this time to tell the story of General Hannibal.
A dream team from the dream factory is once again working together: Denzel Washington (68) and director Antoine Fuqua (58) will bring the ancient field army Hannibal to new life for the streaming service Netflix. The two-time Oscar winner will take on the role of the main character, as the US industry website “Deadline” reports.
Screenwriter John Logan (62) was also hired to tell the story of Hannibal, who went down in history as a brilliant strategist. Among other things, Logan wrote the scripts for blockbusters such as “Aviator” with Leonardo DiCaprio (49), the Bond films “Skyfall” and “Spectre” as well as for Ridley Scott’s (85) monumental film “Gladiator”. The screenwriter is very familiar with epochal stories and battles.
The Netflix film does not currently have an official title. According to “Variety” a first short synopsis has already been published. It is based “on the real warrior Hannibal, who is generally considered one of the greatest military leaders in history. The film covers the most important battles that he fought against the Roman Empire during the Second Punic War.”
The famous crossing of the Alps
His crossing of the Alps is considered one of Hannibal’s most famous maneuvers: with supposedly over 50,000 soldiers, almost 10,000 riders and – as a special deterrent – almost three dozen war elephants. He brought the Roman Empire to the brink of collapse around 200 BC before he could be defeated.
Washington and Fuqua have made several films together, such as the crime thriller “Training Day” and all three “Equalizer” parts. Together they will co-produce the announced Hannibal project. A targeted start date has not yet been announced.