In the past two years, Denzel Washington made sure that justice was coming onto the big screen: first as “The Equalizer”, and then as the leader of “The Magnificent Seven”. Both films were under the direction by Antoine Fuqua, who also directed Denzel for his Oscar-winning role as a bad cop in Training Day alongside Oscar-nominated co-star Ethan Hawke, who’s also saddling with Denzel in #Mag7.
Now, justice will be coming once more with Denzel and Antoine reteaming for “The Equalizer 2”. According to Collider, filming for the sequel is set to begin around next fall, which could mean that the odds are against the possibility to have the follow-up to the hit 2014 vigilante film being equalized for a September 29, 2017 release: illustrating that the film could be equalized for a 2018 release.
“The script is done,” producer Todd Black said in his Q&A session with Collider. “We start shooting right after Labor Day, maybe right before Labor Day depending on Denzel’s schedule. So, Equalizer 2 will start shooting in September of next year, maybe earlier depending on another movie that we’re shooting with Denzel before that. We’re going to do a little bit more work and we’re going to go into casting right after that for his nemesis.”
Released on September 26, 2014, “The Equalizer” is based the popular 1980s CBS spy/detective series that starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a former agent seeking redemption for his sins by helping the helpless. The film saw Denzel becoming a man on fire as McCall, who stands for something called justice as a knight in shining armor on behalf of a young prostitute (Chloe Grace Moretz) and others against the Russian mob and corrupt police officers. The sequel will be Denzel’s first in his career.
“He’s always wanted to do a franchise, and he liked the Bourne movies, the earlier ones,” Black stated. “I’ve had a friendship with him for 27 years and we’ve talked about him doing a franchise character, so when my partners and I got the rights to Equalizer, we were like, ‘Let’s get Denzel to finally do one. This could be the one.’ It was never made as a movie and a lot of people didn’t know it was a TV show … but you’ve probably heard the title. He liked the title and I said to him, ‘Let us write it for you and if you like the script, great; if you don’t we’ll go get another actor. So, he signed up for that and it worked.”
Now, Denzel is a man for hire in #Mag7, as he leads Ethan Hawke, Chris Pratt, Vincent D’Onofrio (who guest-starred on The Equalizer TV series), and others on an impossible job: helping protect a widow and her town from a corrupt land baron.
“The Magnificent Seven” rides into theaters right now.