There’s something to be said about a certain type of project and the goodness it brings when all the right people come together. In 2000, that very project came in the form of the award-winning crooked cop thriller, Training Day, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington.
If you haven’t seen it, just know that you’re missing out on one of the most terrific cinematic experiences you’ll ever have as it turns out with a handful of some of the best performances you’ll ever see. It certainly did the trick years after my own recognition of Fuqua came with action star Chow Yun-Fat’s hit role in The Replacement Killers, and you would be especially advised to make note of the director as well following the accolades he receivged with his paring with Washington for The Equalizer. All things considered, Fuqua and Washington may very well be working on a sequel to The Equalizer in due time, but not before adhering to their latest ensemble efforts in the forthcoming western thriller, The Magnificent Seven, reimagining John Sturges’s classic remake of auteur Kurosawa Akira’s 1954 epic, Seven Samurai.
At the moment, the two will be reunited with The Equalizer co-star, actress Haley Bennett, along with actor Chris Pratt in a story that pits our seven gunslingers against a ruthless gold-mining baron at the behest of a widow willing to pay for their services. John Lee Hancock re-worked the script initially written by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto, and now the word is that Hawke is officially in talks to join, according to Variety. Obviously the aim here is to try and reverb the same success sustained from The Equalizer with the acclaim of Fuqua‘s Training Day, which I’m all for. Granted some people have their opinions in favor of remakes, or otherwise, but with a grouping like this, at least for now, you can’t go wrong.
All hands on deck!