Leicester City star Harvey Barnes has been lined up to replace Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in the third instalment of The Equalizer film franchise.
Rumours of Barnes’ involvement began to swirl last month after his name appeared in a leaked excerpt from the film’s screenplay. Barnes already knows plenty about getting even, but rather than rescuing points for The Foxes, it seems he’ll now be rescuing hostages from the clutches of an armed militia.
Explaining Denzel’s departure from the franchise, director Antoine Fuqua told reporters: ‘Filming was pushed back because of the pandemic, and Denzel had a few other commitments coming up. Ultimately, we realised we’d need to look elsewhere. Once Harvey became available, we knew we had our guy.’
Asked what the England international would bring to the role, Fuqua added, ‘Harvey’s got everything you might want in an action star, speed, agility, impressive shooting. And seeing Leicester reach the top of the table last week, that shows me that he can succeed against all odds – he’s the human embodiment of the Equalizer.’
Filming is now expected to begin at the conclusion of the 2020/21 season, either side of the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament – with Barnes’ big screen debut currently slated for a summer 2022 release.
