Antoine Fuqua is considering rejuvenating Denzel Washington with AI in a possible prequel to The Equalizer
Director Antoine Fuqua has admitted that he is considering rejuvenating Denzel Washington with artificial intelligence in a possible sequel to 'The Equalizer' film franchise.
Here's What We Know
In an exclusive interview with NME to promote the third instalment of 'The Equalizer' to big screens, director Fuqua shared his thoughts on the possibility of creating a film that would reveal the origin story of assassin Robert McCall. Since the prequel will focus on the young years of the protagonist, the actor who embodied him will have to be rejuvenated with the help of AI.
"I definitely thought about it a lot. Especially now with the new technology and the AI and all of that kind of stuff… Is there a story to be told about how [McCall] became this person – the younger version. I’ve had that conversation with Richard Wenk [who co-wrote all three Equalizer films] quite a bit."
Also, Antoine Fuqua admitted that he has not yet discussed the idea with Denzel Washington himself, and does not yet know how the actor will react to such a proposal.
The director is actively interested in the possibilities of AI and is watching how colleagues are applying it:
"I haven’t talked to Denzel about that yet,” said Fuqua. “It’s all so fresh and new. I’m still watching [the technology]. I’ve watched Harrison Ford’s film and I know there’s other movies coming out. I think Sony has one coming out with Tom Hanks soon [Robert Zemeckis’ Here]. And I’m hearing the technology is getting better and better and better. So I’m kind of watching it to see where it goes."."I haven’t talked to Denzel about that yet,” said Fuqua. “It’s all so fresh and new. I’m still watching [the technology]. I’ve watched Harrison Ford’s film and I know there’s other movies coming out. I think Sony has one coming out with Tom Hanks soon [Robert Zemeckis’ Here]. And I’m hearing the technology is getting better and better and better. So I’m kind of watching it to see where it goes."
Washington first embodied the character of McCall in 2014's The Equalizer, loosely based on the popular 1980s TV series. McCall is a former intelligence agent who uses his unique fighting skills to bring society's most violent criminals to justice. In "The Equalizer 3," he finds himself in a small Italian town where civilians are being terrorised by the local mafia.
When We Can Expect It
"The Equalizer" Part 3 will premiere on 30 August. There is no official information about when the prequel will be released or if there will be a prequel at all.
