Dakota Fanning to equalize with Denzel Washington in Equalizer 3
The beloved pairing of Fanning and Washington re-emerges after two decades
It’s been nearly 20 years since Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning teamed up to extinguish the Man On Fire, and extinguish him they did. One of the most beloved cinematic duos since Newman and Redford, Washington and Fanning hung up their tag team titles for the better part of a generation.
They’re ready to defend once again.
Deadline reports that Fanning will join Denzel Washington for the third part in Antoine Fuqua’s Equalizer trilogy. The Equalizer series has been a boon for Washington, amassing more than $380 million worldwide, with Equalizer 2 pulling in more than $102 million in 2018. And that was before Washington presumably called in a favor from Fanning. No doubt, Equalizer 3 will be one of the highest-grossing films of all time with her in tow.
Washington and Fanning first teamed up in 2003 for Man On Fire, one of Washington’s first action vehicles. In Equalizer 2, Washington, who is working as an Uber driver, takes out a crew of scumbag finance bros with a credit card because they mistreated a young woman. He equalizes them in 29 seconds and expects a five-star rating.
In Man On Fire, Washington played Fanning’s protector. But since then, she’s become a star all her own, appearing in several Twilight movies, War Of The Worlds, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. Could this be a passing of the Equalizer torch? Probably not, but since the plot is “being kept under wraps,” we have to speculate. We simply have to.
Having stepped into the role made famous by Edward Woodward on the 1980s television series, Denzel is no longer the only Equalizer on the scene. Last year, CBS launched a Queen Latifah-led Equalizer television series. We sincerely hope that this third film will feature a multiverse hopping mashup that allows all three Equalizers to team up and take out Doctor Octopus.
Equalizer 3 is slated for a September 1, 2023 release.