Rise of the Planet of the Apes director, Rupert Wyatt, may be interested in helming the big screen adaptation The Equalizer, which sees Denzel Washington as the protagonist, Robert McCall.
Based on the 1980’s television series, The Equalizer centers on McCall as a retired cover operations officer who helps people that are caught in difficult circumstances. To be honest, this almost sounds like every other Denzel movie that I’ve watched.
Developed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Equalizer was initially going to be directed by Nicolas Winding Refn – the guy who directed Drive – but he jumped ship a month ago and now, Wyatt is in early negotiations to take his spot. Sony’s also hoping this would be the kick off to a franchise and they’ve budgeted $50 million for the reboot.
Wyatt hasn’t come on board officially just yet because he has to work out some scheduling issues before he dons the directing cap for The Equalizer. After his departure from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the British director decided to work on two upcoming period dramas: AMC’s pilot Turn and the screen adaptation of Sebastian Faulk’s novel, Birdsong, which stars Nicholas Hoult. In addition, he has “an option at Fox that needs to be worked out with Sony”. So all that needs to be determined before he makes his decision.
Nevertheless, if Wyatt officially joins, it would be interesting to see how he approaches the remake. He made quite the impression with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and I’m sure a lot of people will be interested to see more of his work.
The Equalizer is hoping to begin production this June. In the meantime, what do you think of Wyatt directing the movie? If you were a fan of the ’80’s television series, are you interested in seeing Denzel Washington replace Edward Woodward as Robert McCall? Let us know in the comments section.