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A month ago came the news that Netflix had halted pre-production on the upcoming Denzel Washington-led epic drama about the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca (aka. Hannibal the Conqueror).
The film was to shoot later this year in Italy and would reunite Denzel with his “The Equalizer” director Antoine Fuqua, who would helm from a script by John Logan. However, a pause had been hit so “producers and the studio can figure out the budget”.
Concerns were about the film’s economic prospects as the movie had a price tag that was said to be over $200 million, but everyone was reportedly working to get the movie back on track.
Now, the film’s cinematographer Robert Richardson says that the film is “effectively dead”. Appearing at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, he tells Deadline the project “fell through just two weeks ago” and added to The Playlist that it’s ‘effectively dead’. He also indicated he was slated to do 10-12 weeks on that project.
A legendary tactician and leader, Hannibal is widely regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history. The film is expected to cover the pivotal battles he led against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
He’s most famous for invading Rome while riding a Northern African war elephant. He and the Carthaginians won key victories against the Romans – occupying the majority of southern Italy for fifteen years. He was eventually defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Zama.
What happens now is not clear. Fuqua could jump over to the “Michael” sequel which Lionsgate is rumored to be fast-tracking after the first film pulled in $980 million worldwide.
The post Fuqua’s Paused “Hannibal” Movie Now ‘Dead’? appeared first on Dark Horizons.
