Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington Reunite to Film ‘Equalizer 3’ 18 Years After ‘Man on Fire’

Denzel Washington costarred with a young Dakota Fanning in the 2004 action movie Man on Fire

By Benjamin VanHoose

Published on October 19, 2022

Nearly two decades later, Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning are ready for another go.

The two actors — who costarred in the 2004 Tony Scott movie Man on Fire — smiled together in Italy’s Amalfi Coast for a photo call ahead of the production of their new movie Equalizer 3, in theaters next September. The sequel also stars Gaia Scodellaro and is again directed by Antoine Fuqua.

When Fanning, 28, confirmed her casting news back in June, she reacted on Instagram and called Washington, 67, a “legend”: “My gratitude to share the screen once again with the legend of all legends is endless. Can’t wait.”

Her actress sister, actress Elle Fanning, shared a message on her own page, writing, “The reunion to beat all reunions!!!!”

In Man on Fire, Fanning played a 9-year-old named Lupita Ramos relying on her former-CIA bodyguard John W. Creasy (Washington) to rescue her after she’s kidnapped. It also starred Christopher Walken, Radha Mitchell, Marc Anthony and Mickey Rourke.

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Washington plays Robert McCall in the Equalizer movies, a retired agent who is pulled back into dangerous missions. The first hit theaters in 2014 and a second in 2018.

He told Collider earlier this year about prepping to return to the action franchise after his Oscar-nominated turn in The Tragedy of Macbeth, “I gotta get in shape and start beating people up again. I get to beat people up again. The Tragedy of Macbeth and then going and beating some people up — can’t get any better, right?”

Back in 2004, while promoting Man on Fire, Washington praised Fanning and her acting skills, even at that young of an age.

“She’s a sweetheart, as you’ll see if you’ve talked to her already. She’s a bright young woman and she’s just a joy to be around. You can’t not like her,” he told IGN at the time. “Dakota is a child, but she is a wonderful actor. And that’s what we were doing together: acting. I don’t know what a ‘child actor’ is. She’s an actor who’s a child.”

At that same time, a young Fanning told the outlet that Washington “was so nice and I couldn’t wait to see him every day.” She added, “I want to be like him one day.”

Equalizer 3 is in theaters Sept. 1, 2023.