Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive) is negotiating a deal to direct The Equalizer for Sony Pictures Entertainment and Escape Artists.
The film, which has been in various stages of development since June 2010 and boasts a script by screenwriter Richard Wenk (The Expendables 2), is loosely based on the short-lived CBS TV series of the same name.
Denzel Washington (American Gangster), who came aboard the film after Russell Crowe (Gladiator) departed late last year and can be seen next in Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, will play a solitary figure who hates injustice and devotes himself to helping people who are being victimised.
Assuming all the elements come together, production on The Equalizer will start in the early months of next year.
Refn’s next directorial effort Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) and Tom Burke (The Libertine), is due to hit cinemas next year, with a possible Cannes premiere on the cards.
Source: Deadline
