The Equalizer 3 Director Talks Reunion Between Denzel Washington & Dakota Fanning

The Equalizer 3 marks a reunion between Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, who worked together in 2004’s Man on Fire. Fanning was only 10 years old, and the two have not appeared onscreen together since Man on Fire. In an interview with Total Film, director Antoine Fuqua recalled the heartfelt homecoming between Washington and Fanning for The Equalizer 3.

“It was really nice to see how much love they have for each other and respect,” Fuqua said. “It was like a father-daughter thing to watch them and to see them across from each other, laughing and talking when the camera wasn’t rolling.”

What to Expect in The Equalizer 3?

Washington reprises his role as Robert McCall for the third and final time. Fanning joins the third film as CIA operative Emma Collins, who teams with McCall to battle the Sicilian mafia. Eugenio Mastrandrea, David Denman, Salvatore Ruocco, Andrea Scarduzio, Sonia Ben Ammar, and Remo Girone also star.

“Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed,” the official synopsis from Sony reads. “Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.”

The Equalizer 3 is directed by Fuqua on a screenplay by Richard Wenk, the same director-writer combo for the previous two films. The characters are based on the CBS television series of the same name from the 1980s. Fuqua and Washington are producers on The Equalizer 3, along with Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Tony Eldridge, Alex Siskin, Steve Tisch, and Clayton Townsend.

The Equalizer 3 is scheduled to be released in theaters on September 1, 2023.