Antoine Fuqua Says the Equalizer TV Series Didn't Convince Sony to Green Light Equalizer 3

The Equalizer 3 director Antoine Fuqua insists the sequel's existence has nothing to do with the success of the Equalizer reboot on CBS.

Sony Pictures Releasing's decision to commission The Equalizer 3 wasn't influenced by the success of The Equalizer TV series, according to director Antoine Fuqua.

Fuqua insisted that CBS's small screen Equalizer reboot didn't have any bearing on the third big screen Equalizer installment's development in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "No, not at all," he said. "We absolutely have no connection to that [show]; it wasn't even in [our] thinking, really. We just did one movie at a time, and it was the audience that made each film successful. So [Sony] wanted us to come back and do it again." Fuqua added that Sony hired The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2 screenwriter Richard Wenk to pen the screenplay for The Equalizer 3 during the COVID-19 pandemic and the production "got very serious" once star Denzel Washington gave Wenk's Italy-based script the thumbs up.

In the same interview, Fuqua touched on arguably the most talked about aspect of The Equalizer 3: the on-screen reunion of Washington and his Man on Fire co-star Dakota Fanning. Asked how the Washington/Fanning pairing came about, Fuqua revealed that Fanning's team were the ones who got the ball rolling. "[Fanning's manager] called Todd Black, the producer, and then Todd called me. So I had a meeting with Dakota, l loved her, and then I called Denzel to see how he felt. And he loved her, he loved the idea, and that's how it all came about. It was exciting to see them come together," he recalled.

The Equalizer 3 Director on a John Wick Team-Up

Fuqua is apparently open to more team-ups in The Equalizer franchise's future too. Notably, the filmmaker recently addressed the possibility of Washington's Robert McCall crossing paths with Keanu Reeves' John Wick, which he described as an "interesting" scenario. While Fuqua acknowledged that the two characters are "very different," he also admitted that it "would be a lot of fun" to see them share scenes together. "If McCall needs some weapons or some guns, I would let John do that. When it comes to up-close brutality, let McCall handle that," Fuqua said of a hypothetical McCall/Wick encounter.

Despite Fuqua's enthusiasm for a crossover between The Equalizer and John Wick franchises, such a project is unlikely to happen due to licensing issues. That's not the only potential production involving Washington audiences shouldn't hold out hope for, either. According to Fuqua, the long-mooted Training Day prequel Day of the Riot probably won't happen given Washington is now too old to reprise the Detective Alonzo Harris role.