11 Years Ago Today, Denzel Washington Was (Briefly) A Better John Wick Than Keanu Reeves

In 2014, John Wick arrived and went on to become a mᴀssive original action movie franchise with Keanu Reeves at the forefront, but for a short time, Denzel Washington was actually an even better version of John Wick. It’s understandable not to realize this because it’s hard to imagine anyone being a better John Wick than Keanu Reeves.

Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors of all time, so saying he was a better version of a character isn’t a slight at another performer. Denzel is just that good. He had his own movie come out in 2014 that had a similar setup to John Wick and actually sparked its own franchise.

The Equalizer Released The Same Year As John Wick & Was Initially More Successful

Denzel Washington looking tense as McCall in The Equalizer.

Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer hit theaters just about one month before John Wick, and even though the films have a lot of similarities, there weren’t many comparisons made between them at the time. In both, the legendary actors put out some of their best work.

In The Equalizer, Washington plays Robert McCall, a former Marine and DIA Officer who comes out of retirement to protect a victim of human trafficking. In John Wick, Keanu’s тιтular character is a retired hitman who returns for revenge after the dog his late wife gave him is killed by a group of thugs.

What follows in each film is a case of two badᴀss men delivering fantastic action for just about two hours. Considering how big the John Wick franchise has become, it’s probably surprising to learn that The Equalizer actually outgrossed it in 2014 by a significant margin. John Wick made $86 million while The Equalizer raked in $192.3 million.

The John Wick Franchise Grew Far Bigger Than The Equalizer

Keanu Reeves as John Wick aiming a gun in the first movie

As noted, although John Wick made less money than The Equalizer, Keanu’s franchise ultimately became much bigger than Denzel’s. The Equalizer 2 made $190.4 million and The Equalizer 3 pulled in $191.1 million, which shows impressive consistency.

However, John Wick: Chapter 2 jumped from $86 million to $174.3 million, while the third and fourth installments went up to $327.7 million and $447.3 million, respectively. The ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 wrapped up the story neatly, but its success means more installments are coming.

The franchise has branched out to a prequel TV series, The Continental: From the World of John Wick, and a spin-off starring Ana de Armas, Ballerina: From the World of John Wick. While neither was anywhere near as big a hit as the mainline series, it shows how big the franchise has gotten.

John Wick Was Always Better Suited To Sequels Than The Equalizer

John standing in the desert in John Wick 4

Although we still ended up with three entries in The Equalizer franchise, it’s clear that John Wick was more suited for a long-running franchise. Even though Robert McCall can continue to find people to help and bad guys to take out, that series is mostly straightforward.

John Wick has an entire world that it expanded in huge ways as things progressed. There’s a huge network of ᴀssᴀssins all over the globe and so much lore to explore. There’s an underworld the Bowery King is part of, adjudicators, and the entire High Table storyline.

Each progressive John Wick installment has introduced new characters and concepts that have turned it into one of the most expansive movie universes ever. The films have explored new countries and set the table for future spin-offs.

Even beyond Ballerina and The Continental, there are possibilities for new stories featuring Donnie Yen’s Caine, Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, and Rina Sawayama’s Shimazu Akira, just to name a few. There’s also Halle Berry’s Sofia from John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

For The Equalizer franchise, it did reach a new location in the third entry, so there’s potential to keep doing things like that. However, it really is just Robert’s story. There aren’t aspects like lore or tons of new characters to center spin-offs around and that’s okay. The Equalizer is great how it is.

The Equalizer Is Still One Of Denzel Washington’s Best Roles

Denzel Washington as McCall looking from behind cover in The Equalizer 2

Even if Denzel’s time as a better John Wick than Keanu was short-lived, there’s no doubt that The Equalizer remains one of the iconic actor’s best roles. Each installment received solid reviews, and interestingly, the third entry is actually the one to receive the strongest critical acclaim.

Regardless of the reception to each film, the one constant is that Denzel Washington is fantastic as Robert McCall. He’s an actor who famously avoided doing sequels for a long time until The Equalizer came along, which shows how important the character and franchise are to him.

When Denzel’s career comes to an end, people will remember Robert McCall as one of his best characters. Add in the fact that a fourth and fifth film are coming for The Equalizer, along with rumors of a prequel featuring de-aging or casting Denzel’s son, John David Washington, and The Equalizer is in good hands as a top-tier action franchise.