Two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington‘s sixth collaboration with director Antoine Fuqua was set to be a vaulting historical biopic centered around Hannibal Barca, the legendary Carthaginian general. On paper, at least, it looked like a match made in movie heaven, particularly in the wake of Washington’s scenery-chewing turn in Gladiator II, which, if nothing else, demonstrated how comfortably his performance style fits in a historical environment.

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