Denzel Washington And Dakota Fanning Reunite For New Movie For First Time Since Man On Fire

Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington look set to team up for The Equalizer 3, according to Deadline.

Their first pairing in the 2004 epic action-thriller Man On Fire blew audiences away.

Washington played a former CIA officer hired by a wealthy family in Mexico to protect their daughter Pita (Fanning) amid a spate of brutal kidnappings.

The film helped push a then nine-year-old's career towards stardom.

It also allowed Washington to show off his action skills, leading to other thrilling films like the Equalizer series.

So it is a satisfying full-circle to see the two reunited on the big screen.

Not too much is known about the plot for The Equalizer 3, so we will just have to hope that director Antoine Fuqua will take advantage of the dynamic duo's proven on-screen chemistry.

20th Century Fox Film

Based on the 1980s TV show of the same name, Washington first took on the role of Robert McCall back in the first Equalizer in 2014.

Audiences lapped it up and the movie went on to earn a staggering $192 million ($AUD 273 million, £110 million) at the box office.

Just like his role in Man on Fire, Robert McCall was a role made for Washington.

The second instalment came in 2018, which grossed more than $190 million ($AUD 270 million, £109 million) worldwide, proving that audiences were keen as mustard to see McCall on another rampage.

Back in January, the Oscar-winner sat down with Collider and revealed a few hints about the third instalment.

"They have written the third Equalizer, so I’m scheduled to do that," Washington said.

"So I gotta get in shape and start beating people up again. I get to beat people up again."

The third film is set for release on September 1, 2023, so there is plenty of time to give the two Equalizer films a rewatch.

20th Century Fox Film

And Man On Fire is currently on Netflix, so you can give that a crack too.

Be warned, though. Man on Fire is violent. It is over-the-top.

It's also wildly shot with hand-cranked cameras to give the audience the same sense of urgency felt by Washington's character as he tries to keep Pita safe.

It has berserk editing and the raw spirit of a '70s revenge movie.

But it isn't all just thrills and spills. It's also incredibly touching and emotional and will leave you wishing there was more than the two-and-a-half-hour runtime.

Plus, Washington sticks a bomb up a man’s butt. Now that's what we call cinema.

Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist