Denzel Washington Signs On For Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Equalizer’

Denzel Washington has reportedly signed on to star in director Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Equalizer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Drive director is putting the project together with the folks at Sony Pictures. Washington will tackle the lead role in the adaptation of the 80s television series. Acclaimed actor Edward Woodward originally portrayed the private detective during the program’s four season run.

For those who missed this particular crime drama during its original television broadcast, this is essentially what the show was all about:

“Robert McCall is The Equalizer, a private detective with a lot of contacts who is available for hire if you have a problem that you don’t know how to solve. His no-nonsense attitude, compassion, and experience with dealing with a wide variety of situations makes him a powerful and useful detective.”

According to Deadline, production on the big screen adaptation of The Equalizer is slated to begin in the spring of 2013. The Expendables 2 scribe Richard Wenk is responsible for crafting the script.

Reports indicate that Refn managed to beat out a number of big league directors to land the Equalizer gig. Sony had also considered Friday director F. Gary Gray to helm the project. The studio reportedly began meeting with filmmakers about the film back in August.

Denzel Washington, who is receiving a fair amount of Oscar buzz for his turn in Robert Zemeckis’ drama Flight, has a few major projects currently waiting in the wings.

In addition to The Equalizer, Washington will appear in Baltasar Kormakur’s 2 Guns alongside action star Mark Wahlberg, James Marsden, Bill Paxton, and Edward James Olmos.

Unfortunately for fans of the original series, only the first season of The Equalizer is currently available on DVD. This show needs to be added to Netflix streaming or Hulu Plus in the near future.

Do you think Denzel Washington is the right person to tackle the role of Robert McCall in the upcoming adaptation of The Equalizer?