'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwT/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAIOJk7f/xAAfEAACAgIBBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAwIEAAUSBxExMrL/2gAIAQEAAT8A6uN2TqNNWzsKalWyWxUOHMGYXP3GNpVQyYLXAg+IrHb6z//EABgRAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMS/9oACAECAQE/AKZPJ//EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAv/aAAgBAwEBPwDQN//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Oscar-winning actor, director, and producer Denzel Washington is all set to play the role of ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca in an untitled epic drama for Netflix.
The film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua of the Equalizer fame and the script will be penned by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan. It will be produced by Antoine Fuqua, Denzel Washington, Erik Olsen, and Adam Goldworm. The executive producers will be Jeremy Lott and Frank Rodriguez, according to Deadline.
As soon as the news of Denzel Washington playing Hannibal Barca surfaced on the internet, it sparked controversy. While Washington is black, netizens argue that Hannibal, although he belonged to a North African race, was not black but rather Semitic. In this regard, a Reddit user commented under @r/ancientrome’s post.
All you need to know about Hannibal Barca’s ethnicity and race
For those uninitiated, Hannibal Barca, one of history’s greatest military leaders, was a general who was born in 247 BCE in the ancient Phoenician city-state Carthage, in northern Africa, as per ThoughtCo. He is best remembered as the Carthaginian general who crossed over the Alps, attacked Rome atop an elephant, and won the Second Punic War.
While it remains unknown what Hannibal looked like, modern-day people often assume that he would have been black since he was from Africa. However, not all Africans are black. In fact, the source cites that although Hannibal may have had a darker complexion than a Roman, he was not black but rather a Carthaginian.
Carthaginians were traditionally Phoenicians (inhabitants of Phoenicia, a region located on the shores of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean Sea around 1000 BCE) and were conventionally Semitic people. They were a variety of people who occupied ancient northern Africa, such as Assyrians, Arabs, and Hebrews, and resembled modern-day Middle Easterners.
ThoughtCo. further mentions that Hannibal’s family name Barca actually refers to the Barcid family, who descended from modern-day Lebanon. So, even though Hannibal may have been dark-skinned, he was not black.
Denzel Washington may not be the right choice to play Hannibal Barca
In the upcoming untitled Netflix epic drama, Black American actor Denzel Washington is set to enact the role of Hannibal Barca. However, the casting may not be right, considering Hannibal was not Black and was also much younger than the 68-year-old Washington. As a result, the news has now triggered controversy online.
As per Deadline, Hollywood has been planning to make a movie on Hannibal for many years now. In fact, Vin Diesel was supposed to star in one of the renditions. However, it was never really made.
Meanwhile, Denzel Washington himself has also been wanting to play Hannibal for over two decades, and was even in talks with Fox Studios. That, too, did not happen because the timing was not perfect.
Finally, now that the Netflix film will be made, it will revolve around the important battles of Hannibal raged against the ancient Roman Republic during the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE).
