Director Antoine Fuqua is having a pretty good year in film, with The Equalizer on deck for a Fall release and a sequel in the works. In addition to his attachment to producer Ridley Scott’s new crime thriller, Narco Sub, Fuqua is also posied to helm a theatrical remake of the classic Western, The Magnificent Seven.
Well, MGM is noticing a pattern nowadays, one which has much to do with the seemingly lucrative partnership between Fuqua and actor Denzel Washington since their memorable work on the 2001 crime drama, Training Day. Plus, with all the buzz now surrounding the duo’s work on The Equalizer, it’s understandable the studio would adhere to the excitement and are now looking to cast Washington in the remake.
The original 1960 film from director John Sturges that saw actors Yul Brenner and Steve McQueen leading a grizzled cast of tough gunslingers protecting a defenseless agricultural village from marauding native bandits. The film was also a Western cinematic nod to Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 period adventure, Seven Samurai, and was inducted into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for preservation last year.
No word yet on when filming will commense for the remake as Fuqua is currently set to direct boxing drama, Southpaw as of March.
The Equalizer will release on September 26, 2014.
H/T: Variety