Netflix teams up with A-list actor-director duo for its most epic movie drama yet

You won't want to miss this one...

Netflix teams up with A-list actor-director duo for its most epic movie drama yet

Netflix is going to have a very busy 2024, with a number of movies and shows in the pipeline right now. But that hasn't stopped the streaming giant announcing what will be its most epic movie yet and it's brought in some A-List power to make and star in the film.

Hannibal is an historical epic that will recount the true story of the ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal who is seen by many as the greatest military commander that ever lived. You know, the one who rode battle elephants over the alps to surprise-fight the Romans.

It's one of the most epic war stories ever to be told, so it's great then that there is a fantastic actor, director and writer in charge of bringing the story to the screen.

Hannibal cast and crew revealed

It's John Logan who is on scripting duties. The James Bond alumni is no stranger to historical epics, having already penned Gladiator for Ridley Scott.

Directing duties go to Antoine Fuqua and he is joined by longtime collaborator Denzel Washington who is set to play Hannibal.

The official synopsis for the movie is as follows: “based on real-life warrior Hannibal, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history.

"The film covers the pivotal battles he led against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.”

Fuqua and Washington have worked together on a number of movies, including the fantastic Training Day, the Equaliser franchise and the remake of The Magnificent Seven - which is actually well worth a watch and in our best remakes list.

While there's no Hannibal release date as of yet, Washington is currently filming another sword-and-sandal epic, Gladiator 2, while Faqua is working on a movie about Michael Jackson, also scripted by John Logan.

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.