Netflix: This biopic starring Denzel Washington as a war hero is already controversial

Last month, Netflix announced a tantalizing new project: a biopic about Hannibal Barca, directed by Antoine Fuqua, the Carthaginian general and politician considered one of history’s greatest military tacticians.

It is Denzel Washington who will play this warrior on the screen, who was raging in BC. A choice that seems to displease some as it is Article from Le Monde. In Tunisia, where Hannibal has been elevated to the status of a popular hero to the point where his name is given to a TV channel, it is difficult to admit that a black actor gives his features.

This topic was even discussed in the National Assembly on November 30, when a deputy addressed the Minister of Culture Hayet Ketat Guermazi and pointed out the “risk of falsifying history”. According to researchers and historians, Hannibal had brown skin, not black.

At the same time, a petition was launched Website change.org. In particular, they accuse Netflix and the rest of the production of “cultural appropriation and the promotion of their ideology.” At this point, with 1,400 small votes, the issue probably does not tip the scales.

This isn’t the first time a Netflix production of this type has come under fire from critics. A few months ago, it was fiction about Cleopatra that was criticized, this time by the Egyptian government. The casting of a black actor to portray the former queen has reignited debate about her skin color and origins.

As for the Minister of Culture, he took a firm position on this topic: “This is fiction, this is their right. Hannibal is a historical figure, even if we are all proud to be Tunisian. what should we do?”. Now it remains to be seen whether this Netflix production will be partially filmed in the country and specifically in Carthage, the ancient Punic city where the general was born.