One of the biggest selling points of next week’s “The Equalizer 3” is that it will mark the final entry in the Denzel Washington-led action series inspired by the 1980s TV series.
The new entry sees Washington return as former U.S. Marine and DIA officer Robert McCall. The film’s director Antoine Fuqua says the first film is about McCall finding a purpose, the second about making peace with his past, and the third deals with his struggle with brutality.
Fuqua’s gone enough rounds with the character that he’s not yet done with the man if he can help it. Speaking with the NME in a new interview, Fuqua revealed he’s considered de-aging Denzel for a prequel.
Said prequel would not only continue the franchise but give McCall an origin story. For now, the idea is still just that, but Fuqua also says he’s keenly watching how the tech develops:
“I definitely thought about it a lot. Especially now with the new technology and the AI and all of that kind of stuff… Is there a story to be told about how [McCall] became this person – the younger version? I’ve had that conversation with [‘Equalizer’ screenwriter] Richard Wenk quite a bit.
I haven’t talked to Denzel about that yet. It’s all so fresh and new. I’m still watching [the technology]. I’ve watched Harrison Ford’s film, and I know there are other movies coming out. I think Sony has one coming out with Tom Hanks soon [Robert Zemeckis’ ‘Here’]. And I’m hearing the technology is getting better and better and better. So I’m kind of watching it to see where it goes.”
Part of the hesitation is that a de-aged Denzel would be costly, and the films have worked in part so far because they’re cost efficient, with box-office tripling the $60 million budgets of the first two films.
“The Equalizer 3” premieres in theaters on September 1st.
