The Equalizer Maybe Actually Happening, Starring Russell Crowe

We’re not exactly shocked that Russell Crowe has signed on to play Robert McCall in the film adaptation of the ’80s television series The Equalizer. How much acting will Crowe really have to do to play a bad boy with a conscience who doles out his own version of justice via aggression and/or violence? (We kid because we love, Russell!)

The real surprise in all of this is that The Equalizer is actually moving forward as a project, considering it’s been “in the works” for about half of the last decade. The Weinstein Company first announced production of the The Equalizer in December of 2005. In March of 2006, they hired a director (Lucky Number Slevin’s Paul McGuigan), which is all well and good, except that no one started working on the script until January of 2007, when celebrated crime novelists Michael Connelly and Terrill Lee Lankford came aboard. Another whole year rolled by without a peep from anyone about the film, except word that Jason Statham (The Transporter, Snatch) might possibly play Robert McCall… maybe.

And then, all was quiet on the Weinstein front—no announcements about anything Equalizer related for over two years. We assumed the project dead until only recently.

The Equalizer has reemerged, according to the L.A. Times, complete with a leading man in Crowe and a new team of producers, including Mace Neufeld (Hunt for Red October), Alex Siskin (Big Daddy) and Escape Artists (The Taking of Pelham 123). No announcement yet about who will direct, write, fill out the cast list, or make certain the film doesn’t disappoint old-time fans a-la The A-Team. But hey, that’s all right. Baby steps, people.

If you’re unfamiliar with The Equalizer of yore, check out the opening sequence below.

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