After Queen Cleopatra Controversy, Netflix’s Latest Historical Film ‘Hannibal’ Starring Denzel Washington Draws Immense Backlash
Denzel Washington is one of the best actors of his generation. In his career spanning four decades, he has starred in numerous great movies such as The Pelican Brief, Crimson Tide, and The Hurricane. He started his career as an actor in 1975 and appeared in many television shows, motion pictures, and stage shows.
Not so long ago, Spider-Man: No Way Home star Zendaya faced a lot of criticism when she was rumored to appear as Cleopatra in her collaborator Denis Villeneuve’s movie of the same name which is not in development yet. Recently, Denzel Washington was revealed to be a part of The Equalizer director Antoine Fuqua’s latest project about one of the greatest military commanders in history, Hannibal.
Denzel Washington’s Upcoming Historical Film Becomes the Target of Public Backlash
Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington has portrayed several characters over the years and now he is all set to play the role of the Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca. The project is untitled as of now and will be released on Netflix as the streaming service made this announcement on November 13th.
According to Deadline, the film will be directed by Washington’s longtime collaborator Antoine Fuqua from a script written by three-time Academy Award-nominated writer John Logan who wrote the script for The Aviator and Gladiator. While the movie will be produced by Fuqua, Washington, Adam Goldworma, and Eric Olsen, it will be executive-produced by Jeremy Lott and Frank Rodriguez Moll.
Read More: Ridley Scott Drops Vital Clue on Denzel Washington’s Mystery Role in Gladiator 2
No sooner was the news about The Tragedy of Macbeth star playing the role of Hannibal revealed than netizens began expressing their displeasure regarding the casting. The fact that Denzel Washington is Black and the character he is going to play is Semitic although he came from a North African race is not boding well with netizens.
Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Equalizer) are teaming up to tell the story of Hannibal – regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history. The film will cover the pivotal battles he led against the Roman Republic. Coming soon to Netflix! pic.twitter.com/KInIjkagSV
— Netflix (@netflix) November 13, 2023
As of now, this casting has left people divided on the internet as Washington’s fans believe that he will make a good Hannibal. So, it remains to be seen if the movie will attract a good viewership or not.
Denzel Washington Doesn’t Get Personally Involved in His Projects with Antoine Fuqua
Denzel Washington is neither a fan of attending events nor giving interviews and on the off-chance that he does either of those, he has to have a very strong reason for that. Thankfully, Antoine Fuqua who has been working with the actor since 2001’s Training Day, has got fans covered about how Washington influences their collaborative projects as a producer.
While being interviewed by CinemaBlend on the virtual press day for Equalizer 3, Fuqua said that the Glory star does not get personally involved when one of their movies is in post-production, but gives his opinions on it after a private preview screening. He said:
“He [Washington] doesn’t with me; he’s never coming to the editing bay or anything like that. We discuss the film once I get a cut that I think is good enough to show him. I’ll show him, and we discuss whatever comments and things like that, and I go back into the lab and do my work and that’s it. We’ve had that relationship since Training Day.”
Considering that the two of them have been working together for more than two decades now, there is obviously going to be a sense of trust between them which enables them to make some of the best projects ever.
