Denzel Washington’s Epic ‘Gladiator’ Replacement Hits a Major Roadblock at Netflix

Denzel Washington jumping from the Ancient Rome of Gladiator II with Ridley Scott right into another sword-and-sandals epic, this time with his longtime collaborator Antoine Fuqua sounded almost too good to be true, which in Hollywood usually means it either is, or it’s not going to be easy. And this one is not going to be easy. Washington, one of the most iconic actors of all time, has long been attached to star as the Carthaginian general Hannibal in a new Netflix production and on paper, that’s a slam dunk. It’s got ancient warfare, elephants, Rome again, but it’s a bumpier road than expected.

According to Deadline, the untitled Hannibal movie has hit a snag at Netflix. The project has been in development since 2023 and had been expected to move toward production after earlier reports suggested filming was being eyed in Italy. Now, that doesn’t mean the movie is dead, but it does mean one of Washington’s biggest upcoming projects is no longer charging ahead as smoothly as expected, and that’s always a sad day for movie fans because any Denzel movie is something to be celebrated. The screenplay comes from John Logan (Gladiator), whose credits also include The Aviator, Skyfall, and Hugo. Washington and Fuqua are also producing, alongside Erik Olsen and Adam Goldworm.

What Movies Did Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua Make?

Washington and Fuqua have made five movies together so far, and they’ve been a pretty reliable commercial pairing, and critical for the most part too. The big one culturally is obviously Training Day, which won Washington the Oscar, but commercially the Equalizer trilogy has been the backbone of their partnership, and it’s also perhaps one of the best ‘dad movie trilogies’ of all time. They feature Washington as Robert McCall, a former operative attempting to live a quiet life when, wouldn’t you know it, scumbags can’t help but be scumbags. McCall decides he must be the one to avenge their crimes.

Funnily enough, all three Equalizer movies landed in basically the same worldwide range — around $190 million each — which is kind of wild consistency. The pair also teamed up for The Magnificent Seven, a 2016 remake of the iconic Western of the same name, which grossed around $162 million worldwide.

Netflix has not yet announced a release date for the untitled Hannibal movie.