Oh, boy. Has Netflix had a change of heart when it comes to Antoine Fuqua’s Carthaginian general Hannibal biopic starring Denzel Washington?
According to Deadline, the streamer has halted pre-production on Fuqua’s untitled epic drama about Hannibal. The film was planning to shoot this summer in Italy, but sources confirm plans have been “put on pause” due to budget concerns. The rumored price for Fuqua’s film has been circulating for quite a few months now, with a budget north of $200M.
Yet in the last few weeks Netflix had shown no signs of worry, with the streamer setting up meetings with actors to join Washington in the film, as well as Fuqua scouting locations in Italy.
The film — which would mark Fuqua’s sixth collaboration with Washington — will chronicle the decisive campaigns Hannibal waged against Rome during the Second Punic War (218–201 B.C.). It’s hard not to wonder how the news of Washington’s casting would land in Tunisia, where Hannibal is more than a historical figure; he’s a near-mythic national hero.
The project at least has a commendable screenwriter in John Logan, whose résumé includes “Gladiator,” “The Aviator,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “Skyfall.”
Furthermore, the DP attached to the project is Robert Richardson, a three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer whose work with Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Kill Bill”), Martin Scorsese (“The Aviator,” “Casino”), and Oliver Stone (“JFK,” “Platoon”) has made him one of the most visually distinctive DPs in the game.
Fuqua’s filmography includes “Training Day,” “Tears of the Sun,” “King Arthur,” “Brooklyn’s Finest,” “Olympus Has Fallen,” “Southpaw,” “Emancipation,” “The Guilty,” “The Magnificent Seven,” and three ‘Equalizer’ movies.
Oh, and he also directed a little film called “Michael,” which is currently the highest-grossing live-action movie of 2026 and might hit the billion-dollar mark at the box office in the coming weeks. If the Hannibal movie doesn’t work out for him, Fuqua could always go back to direct the ‘Michael’ sequel, which is currently being fast-tracked for a late 2026 shoot by Lionsgate.