Denzel Washington Confirms The Equalizer 3 Starts Filming This Year

Denzel Washington officially confirms that The Equalizer 3 will start filming at some point in 2022. Based on the 1980s series of the same name, The Equalizer, released in 2014, follows Robert McCall (Washington) as he attempts to free a young woman from her entanglement with Russian gangsters. The film proved relatively successful with critics and audiences and performed well at the box office, spawning a sequel in 2018.

While The Equalizer 2 didn’t generally fare as well with critics as the first film, it nonetheless performed adequately at the box office. Soon after The Equalizer 2, Antoine Fuqua, who directed both installments, confirmed that he was interested in making a third film in the franchise, but there have been almost no updates regarding the project in recent months. Both Fuqua and Washington have stayed busy since The Equalizer 2, with Fuqua having directed Infinite and The Guilty and Washington having appeared in The Little Things and, most recently, Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.

During the press tour for The Tragedy of Macbeth, Washington confirmed to BlackFilmandTv.com that The Equalizer 3 is indeed scheduled to start shooting this year with Fuqua attached to direct. Plot details regarding the film are essentially non-existent at this point, but with filming taking place this year, audiences can expect more information, including casting announcements, in the coming months.

As Taken proved in 2008 with Liam Neeson, there is a large market for action movies starring aging Hollywood legends, and The Equalizer franchise is no exception. The Equalizer 2 features Pedro Pascal as the main villain and, while McCall killed Pascal’s character at the end of the film, it’s likely that the third installment will feature an actor of similar caliber in the villain role. Unfortunately, Washington doesn’t confirm when exactly this year The Equalizer 3 will start shooting, but a 2023 release date for the film does seem likely given the timeframe.

Washington is widely regarded as one of the most talented actors working in Hollywood today, and it’s fortunate that audiences still get to see him in fun, action-oriented roles in addition to his more prestigious movies. The Equalizer films aren’t exactly about to win Washington any awards, but they do provide thrills, graphic violence, and a healthy dose of well-choreographed action. Considering Washington is now pushing 70 years old, however, it seems likely that The Equalizer 3 will be his last time playing Robert McCall and that the film will act as a sendoff for the character. Then again, Harrison Ford is nearly 80 years old and is still playing Indiana Jones, so perhaps Washington does have a few more Equalizer films in him.