Denzel Washington's Casting As Famed General Hannibal In Film Sparks Controversy In Tunisia

The casting of Denzel Washington as ancient Carthaginian General Hannibal has been met with some harsh criticism in Tunisia for "falsifying history."

The film will be directed by Antoine Fuqua—who brought us such Denzel greats as The Equalizer and Training Day—and will be "based on real-life warrior Hannibal, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history," focusing on "pivotal battles he led against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War."

But the Tunisian Parliament and their media aren't too happy about Washington, a Black man, portraying Hannibal who was of West Asian Semitic origin. The famed general was born in 247 B.C. in Carthage, now known as Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

Variety reported on Monday that Tunisian Member of Parliament Yassine Mami spoke out on the matter.

“There is a risk of falsifying history: We need to take position on this subject."

“This is about defending Tunisian identity and listening to the reactions of civil society.”

Many people on social media agree with Mami that there is cause for concern over the historical inaccuracies.

Others, however, argue that Washington is the right man for the job and will do the role justice.

And a few were even split on the casting decision.

On the other side of the argument is the country's Minister of Cultural Affairs, Hayet Guettat Guermazi, who shared with French newspaper Le Monde that she hopes the film will bring positive attention to Tunisia.

“It’s fiction. It is [Netflix‘s] right to do what they want."

“Hannibal is a historical figure and we are all proud that he was Tunisian. But what can we do?"

"I hope they decide to shoot at least a sequence of the film here and that this is publicized."

"We want Tunisia to go back to being a location where foreign films are shot.”

Reps for Netflix have not yet responded to requests for comment.