Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua never really thought of The Equalizer films “as a franchise”.

In The Equalizer, Washington returns as Robert McCall, a retired U.S. Marine and former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer who doles out justice in his own way.

Washington reunited with his Training Day director for the first Equalizer in 2014, they returned for the second in 2018, and are now promoting the third and final instalment in their trilogy.

However, Fuqua explained to Entertainment Tonight that they treat each Equalizer as a standalone project rather than a grand tale told in three parts.

“It was just (the) same conversation we had (for) one and two. We never thought about it as a franchise, it’s a film on its own. It’s a part of a franchise, but it’s a film on its own,” he shared, adding that they never once discussed how the third movie relates to the previous two outings.

“So we dealt with it that way. That’s what we talked about. Just this film, we don’t talk about one and two. (They’re) done,” the filmmaker noted.

Washington once again confirmed that The Equalizer 3 is the end of the road for him as his character.

“They may do another one, but it’s the end for me. Never say never, but you never know…” he said, before joking that even a “massive cheque” wouldn’t sway his decision.

The Equalizer 3 is due to be released in cinemas on 1 September.

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