Almost 20 years after serving as her protector in the movie Man on Fire, Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning have reunited in another action movie, the new 2023 movie The Equalizer 3. Movie fans got their first glimpse at the co-stars on screen together once again in the first The Equalizer 3 trailer, now available online.
The Equalizer franchise (not to be confused with Queen Latifah's The Equalizer TV show) has seen Washington take on the role of Robert McCall, a former government assassin who now takes it upon himself to dole out justice to the oppressed. His man on a mission has a similar vibe to the character that he played in Man on Fire, where his job was to protect and then rescue a young girl, played by Fanning.
Man on Fire was released in 2004, when Fanning was about 10 years old. The movie was not very well received by critics (38% "Rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes), but many action fans have come to love the Tony Scott-directed movie, as evidenced by the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which has the movie scored at an 89% positive rating. That makes the reunion of Washington and Fanning (now all grown up) a fun bit of casting for The Equalizer 3.
The plot of The Equalizer 3 sees Washington's McCall go abroad as he tries to find peace from the violence in his past. But in southern Italy, the presence of the mafia may make that difficult. Here is the official synopsis:
"Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall 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. 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 movie is only giving us a taste of their reunion in the first trailer, though. In the nearly three minute trailer, which you can watch below, Fanning only shows up at the very end, discussing killings she suspects Washington's McCall to have committed over an espresso. Hopefully she'll appear more in actual movie.
The Equalizer 3 premieres exclusively in movie theaters on September 1.
