While everyone is excitedly waiting for John Wick 5 to hit theaters in the future, there is a Denzel Washington franchise that matches up to John Wick in terms of intensity. In a surprising move, John Wick is getting a fifth movie despite the lead character dying in the fourth movie. However, as Ballerina shows, there is still a chance to bring Keanu Reeves back as the brilliant ᴀssᴀssin without caring about deaths or even continuity in the series. However, the fifth movie isn’t coming soon, so fans need to find other action movies to follow.

There are not as many bankable action stars in today’s movie world as there used to be. However, what makes these new action stars interesting is that they are not what people might have expected. No one thought Keanu Reeves could be a major blockbuster action star until The Matrix, but he is now the world’s most beloved action hero. Another action star that got his start unexpectedly is Denzel Washington. After years of working in dramas, Training Day helped him change focus, and he has a franchise that matches John Wick in terms of intensity.

Denzel Washington’s Hero In The Equalizer Gives John Wick A Run For His Money

Denzel Washington Is A Major Action Star Despite Being 70

Throughout the 1990s, Denzel Washington made his name as an Oscar-nominated drama actor. However, in 2001, Washington shocked the world when he won an Oscar after taking on a villainous role as a dirty cop in Training Day. This Oscar win helped push Washington into the realm of an action hero. After that film, Washington took on roles in action movies like Out of Time, Man on Fire, The Manchurian Candidate, Inside Man, Deja Vu, Unstoppable, The Book of Eli, and more.

Then, Washington got his biggest role in the later years of his career. In 2014, Washington took on the lead role in the big-screen reboot of the classic TV series The Equalizer. Edward Woodward starred as Robert McCall in the original TV series, a former covert ops officer who helps people in need. Washington took on the same roll as a former Marine and DIA/DCS officer, who finds himself pulled into dangerous situations when people in his neighborhood find themselves in danger.

This saw Washington, 60 in the first movie, turn in some amazing action scenes. He could take on gunplay, knife fighting, and even hand-to-hand combat, and, just like in John Wick movies, beat numerous people in fight scenes. By the time the third movie rolled around, he was 69 and could still defeat several people at a time without missing a beat. It was easy to see John Wick’s fighting skills in Robert McCall, and it was even more impressive based on Washington’s age.

Why The Equalizer Is A Defining Movie In Denzel Washington’s Career

Denzel Washington Makes The Most Money For Studios In The Equalizer

There is a saying that many top actors do movies that make money, so they can make movies they want to make. An example is that Denzel Washington appeared in Gladiator II in 2024, and while that movie was a flop, it was supposed to be a big-budget blockbuster. Since actors sign up for movies in advance, he quickly jumped in to work with Spike Lee again in the Akira Kurosawa remake of Highest 2 Lowest. Before this, from 2014 through 2023, Washington made three Equalizer movies.

This made Denzel Washington a huge box office star for the studio. All three of the movies made just over $190 million worldwide each, which allowed him to keep the franchise going. Even at 70, Washington said that the studio wants him to make two more movies in the franchise. Thanks to this money-making success story, he also got to make Fences and A Journal for Jordan, which he directed, and smaller movies he starred in, like The Tragedy of Macbeth. This is thanks to Washington being a bankable star, all thanks to The Equalizer.