Denzel

Both Sony Pictures and test audiences are said to be very happy with Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer, as the studio have now closed a deal with screenwriter Richard Wenk (who also wrote the first movie) to pen a sequel seven months before this instalment even released.

According to The Wrap, a mid-December test screening for the movie earned the highest scores for an R-rated movie in Sony’s history, something which they clearly felt couldn’t be ignored, hence why work on a sequel has already begun.

The site adds that star Denzel Washington is expected to reprise his role in a follow-up to the thriller, but negotiations are ongoing as his original contract didn’t include an option for a sequel. In fact, if he does star in The Equalizer 2, it would actually be the prolific actor’s first sequel!

Of course, it all depends on how well the movie does at the box office when it opens this September, but with a cast which includes Chloe Grace Moretz, Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman, Haley Bennett, David Harbour and Marton Csokas, it’s difficult to imagine it not being a hit!

Based on the 1980s TV show of the same name, Washington plays retired intelligence officer Robert McCall, whose act of kindness toward a young prostitute gets him embroiled with the Russian mob. Producer Mace Newfeld recently hinted that The Equalizer could be the first instalment of a new franchise when Hey U Guys caught up with him to discuss Jack Ryan, and you can check out that interview by clicking here.