Benicio Del Toro & Denzel Washington Almost Worked Together On This 2007 Thriller

The 2007 crime drama "American Gangster" began its life as a 2000 New York Times article called "The Return of Superfly," written by journalist Marc Jacobs. The article detailed the rise and fall of Frank Lucas, a Harlem drug kingpin who operated in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lucas was apprehended and jailed in 1976 and sentenced to 70 years in prison, but was able to get his sentence shortened by becoming an FBI informant. He was a criminal who took a job with the cops — notably, Detective Richie Roberts — who collared him.

Star screenwriter Steve Zaillian wrote a massively long adaptation of Jacobs' article and showed it to director Ridley Scott as early as 2002. Scott declined to direct it, however, choosing to work on his ancient war epic "Kingdom of Heaven" instead. The screenplay, called "True Blu" at the time, also crossed the desk of Brian de Palma. De Palma would have made the film in 2004, but he also exited for unknown reasons, perhaps to begin production on his film adaptation of James Ellroy's "The Black Dahlia."

For a brief time thereafter, the screenplay drifted into the hands of Antoine Fuqua, known at the time for "The Replacement Killers," "Bait," "Training Day," and "Tears of the Sun." Fuqua dove into the material, casting his "Training Day" star, Denzel Washington, as Frank Lucas and Benicio del Toro as Richie Roberts. Pre-production continued apace, albeit in a way that made the film's studio backer, Universal, nervous. Fuqua was eventually fired from the project, but there was a tantalizing moment when Washington and del Toro were set to star opposite one another.

At the 2024 Comic-Con International panel "Directors on Directing" (handily transcribed by Collider), Fuqua talked a little about "American Gangster" falling out from under him.

Fuqua and Universal famously butted heads on "American Gangster," although the studio did like the director's title change; "Tru Blu" was too weird for Universal, it seems. However, Fuqua insisted on shooting on location in New York, which was more expensive than shooting in Toronto like Universal suggested. Fuqua also re-wrote pages of the script on the fly, adding Vietnam flashback scenes that were, by his vision, to star Ray Liotta and John C. Reilly (two actors who are not in the final 2007 film). The budget got too large, and Fuqua was fired for the familiar and ancient reason: creative differences. 

Fuqua considers "American Gangster" to be "the one that got away," and he regrets that he never got to finish it. In his own words:

"I was actually fully prepped for 'American Gangster.' I was just a couple of weeks away from filming 'American Gangster.' In fact, I'm the one who called it 'American Gangster.' It used to be called Blue-something, and I got Denzel involved and changed it to 'American Gangster.' That film fell apart because of financing. At the time, Universal couldn't come to an understanding of the budget or cast. I cast police Benicio del Toro alongside Denzel, which is what I wanted it to be. Benicio and Denzel. At the time, Universal had other clients. When that fell apart, that broke my heart."

Fuqua added that the film still broke his heart and he hated that he was fired. Then, however, when Ridley Scott joined the production in earnest, Fuqua was able to make a small amount of peace with the process. "It is what it is," he said. "That's Hollywood."

Washington remained attached, while Scott recast the Richie Roberts role with Russell Crowe, making the film a "Virtuosity" reunion. The film ultimately received two Academy Award nominations for Supporting Actress and Art Direction. It won neither. Curiously, "American Gangster" became a big hit on Netflix in September 2024.