As if co-starring for one previous collaborator (that would be Ridley Scott) in a giant period epic (Gladiator 2, which can now resume filming following the end of the actors' strike), Denzel Washington is now attached to another. Deadline reports that he'll reunite with director Antoine Fuqua for Netflix's ambitious plan to bring Hannibal to screens.
No, not Lecter – this would be the historical commander who went to war against the Romans and became famous for riding an elephant into battle.
With John Logan, who wrote Gladiator, on script duty, the film will follow the pivotal battles Hannibal led against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
This is a subject that has obsessed Hollywood in general and Vin Diesel in particular for years — he tried to get a film made about the man for more than a decade and likely still harbours ambitions.
And it's not Washington's first go-around with the possibility either: he was interested in the role more than 20 years ago when then-20th Century Fox was producing. But at the time, he didn't want to be away from his family for too long. Given how at least one of them (John David Washington) has followed him into the business, they could up co-starring.
It'll also mark the sixth team-up for Fuqua and Washington, who have collaborated on Training Day, The Magnificent Seven and the Equalizer trilogy.