Antoine Fuqua is a man in demand. Now putting the finishing touches to his Equalizer movie reboot with Denzel Washington and preparing to lace up his directorial gloves for pugilism pic Southpaw, the Training Day director has been offered not one, not two, but *three *further films, with Fox pulling out the captain’s chair on Narco Sub, MGM offering the Magnificent Seven remake and Sony looking to secure him for a second spin with **The Equalizer{
All three come with ticking time clocks attached, but the big question will be which Fuqua decides to make once he’s finished Southpaw. Sony’s claim to his services on The Equalizer sequel is by no means definite, but after a seemingly positive experience reuniting with Washington for the crime thriller – not to mention healthy test screening scores – we could see him prioritise that.
Narco Sub, meanwhile, offers the chance to take over a former Tony Scott project, which finds a disgraced American naval officer forced to pilot a submarine loaded with cocaine past the Coast Guard’s watchful eye. Doug Liman had been considering the idea, but has apparently passed on it.
As for Magnificent Seven, that would seem to be a more controversial option given the love for the original. True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto is one of the writers working on the script, and Tom Cruise had been attached to star. There’s no definite word on whether he’s still aboard, but The Hollywood Reporter does say that MGM is now approaching Brad Pitt about the idea.
The first Equalizer film will arrive here on September 26 and has recently released a trailer.