Hannibal R.I.P.?

CINEMA AND PUNIC WATCH FAIL? Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington’s Netflix ‘Hannibal’ Epic Is “Dead” Due to $200M Budget Concerns (Jordan Ruimy, World of Reel).

Last month, Netflix had a change of heart when it came to Antoine Fuqua’s General Hannibal biopic starring Denzel Washington. Pre-production had been halted by the streamer. The film was scheduled to shoot this summer in Italy but was “put on pause” due to budget concerns—the rumored price tag for Fuqua’s film was over $200M.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson is telling The Playlist that the project is now “effectively dead.” ...

It's not a good sign when your cinematographer says that your film is "effectively dead." But did Richardson actually say that? If you click on the link in the quote above, you will see that the introduction to the Playlist interview says "Oh, and he also noted that the Antoine Fuqua “Hannibal” epic with Denzel Washington at Netflix he was meant to shoot is effectively dead ..." while linking to an earlier article on the film's pre-production being paused. However, the interview itself, which "has been edited for length and clarity," doesn't mention the Hannibal film, Washington, or Fuqua at all. Whatever he said or didn't say about wasn't important enough to keep in the final edit.

It doesn't look good for the film, but there is not yet a definitive announcement about its fate. We'll see.

Background here and links.

UPDATE (7 July): Deadline has published an interview with Mr. Richardson in which the subject of the Hannibal film comes up again:

DEADLINE: So, to bring us up to date, what are you working at the moment?

RICHARDSON: I just did Madden, with David O. Russell, and I was going to make Hannibal with Antoine and Denzel Washington for Netflix — Hannibal Barca being the general in Carthage — but it fell through just two weeks ago. I was on it for 10 or 12 weeks.

That sounds decisive. Hannibal R.I.P.

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