Fuqua Will Return To Direct THE EQUALIZER 2 Starting Next September

This weekend begins the theatrical run of Antoine Fuqua’s latest endeavor, The Magnificent Seven, reinterpreting John Sturges’s own 1960 remake classic inspired by Kurosawa Akira’s earlier epic, Seven Samurai. The film has been on the campaign trail following a string of trailers and promos leading up to its premiere at TIFF earlier this month, and with select cast and crew on deck for the publicity tour as of late, fans and onlookers are getting a little more first-hand insight on the film, which headlines an ensemble cast led by actor Denzel Washington.

The film reunites the actor/director duo following their stellar 2001 crime drama, Training Day, and their 2014 reunion, The Equalizer, inspired by the popular 1985 television series of the same name. Joining Washington with actress Chloë Grace-Moretz and actor Martin Csokas, Richard Wenk wrote the script which centered our lead actor in the title role – a former black ops operative living the quiet, monastic life as a good samaritan who is forced to take on the Russian mob at large after retaliating against a pimp for the beating of a young prostitute.

The film went on to earn more than $192 million dollars at the box office, solidifying its place as both a hit, as well as precedent for a sequel by last June, and with a date in place for September 29 next year. However, a new report from Collider has now confirmed, instead, that the film will commence shooting around Labor Day next year around the same period depending on how Washington’s own schedule goes, which could mean a 2018 or 2019 date, and after much speculation, officially marking Fuqua’s return to the helm with Wenk’s new script packaged and ready to go and further casting details to be announced as for who would play the new villain.

Read more at Collider.