Nearly two decades after the release of their 2004 action thriller Man on Fire, Dakota Fanning is set to reunite with Denzel Washington in a new movie.
As reported by Deadline, the 28-year-old actress has been cast in the third film of director Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer series opposite Oscar-winner Washington.
Fanning and the 67-year-old Training Day actor starred together in Man on Fire 18 years ago. The actress played a nine-year-old girl named Lupita "Pita" Ramos, who depends on Creasy, her former-CIA bodyguard, to save her after she is kidnapped.
While no details have been shared about Fanning’s character in The Equalizer 3, there's a good chance that Washington’s character will follow in Creasy’s footsteps and build a close friendship with her.
Washington plays Robert McCall in the franchise, a retired agent who is pulled back into dangerous missions. The first film was released in theaters in 2014, and earned over $194 million worldwide, leading to a sequel released in 2018, which grossed over $190 million worldwide.
While the plot for the next film is being kept under wraps, let's look back at Washington and Fanning's wholesome interactions during the Man on Fire promotions.
Per IGN, Washington praised the Twilight actress for her acting skills: "Dakota is a child, but she is a wonderful actor. And that's what we were doing together: Acting. I don't know what a child actor is. She's an actor who's a child."
He added: "She's a sweetheart as you'll see if you've talked to her already. She's a bright young woman and she's just a joy to be around. You can't not like her."
The Fences actor also said that during filming, he spent a lot of time with the young actress behind the scenes. "We were together a lot, just the two of us, especially in the car, so there's a lot of time to talk and joke," he said.
"She's a very engaging and interesting person and a very smart young woman. You start having little conversations. She's very professional," he added.
A young Fanning similarly praised her co-star, saying of Washington that she "couldn't wait to see him every day". She added: "He is so focused and he is always trying to try new things. I want to be like him one day."
Equalizer 3 is rumored to be released in movie theaters on September 1, 2023.