The Equalizer 3 director Antoine Fuqua wants to revisit two underrated movies from his filmography for director’s cuts.
While promoting the latest Equalizer theatrical installment starring Denzel Washington in an interview with Indiewire, Fuqua was asked about some past projects that deserved a second look. His response was two standouts: The 2003 war drama Tears of the Sun starring Bruce Willis and the Washington-led remake of The Magnificent Seven from 2016. Regarding the latter, based on the Akira Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven had a longer cut that only a few people including star Ethan Hawke have seen.
Antoine Fuqua Wants The Magnificent Seven’s Director’s Cut Released
“[Ethan Hawke] saw the very first [cut],” Fuqua recalled. “I don’t know where it is now though, with MGM, I’d have to try to get it. I would like to recut it myself, but I don’t know who would pay for it. I’d have to pay for that, somewhere down the line, I might try. But yeah, he saw the very first cut, which I thought was better. You are dealing with the studio and timing and theaters, but you got a business is business. But I wish that one was the version [that was released].”
With Tears of the Sun, the epic war drama about an American special-ops team rescuing Nigerian refugees and a doctor was controversial for its reported clashes between Fuqua and Willis. The movie went on to mostly negative reviews and disappointed at the box office. Despite the director feeling that Tears was compromised by the studio and the star, Fuqua still complimented Willis who recently retired from acting after going public about his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
“It had much more to it,” Fuqua said. “It was cut down quite a bit. It became a little more movie star-driven, and that wasn’t the intention. It was more about the people and the events, and then it became obviously shifted. But Bruce Willis is an amazing movie star, and I get it.”
While Fuqua expressed interest in revisiting both movies down the road, the director has plenty to look forward to. As he continues to promote Equalizer 3, Fuqua has expressed interest in an Equalizer prequel with the star’s son John David Washington as a young Rober McCall. Additionally, Fuqua is currently in pre-production on Michael, an epic biopic about Michael Jackson set to be played by the King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar Jackson.
The Equalizer 3 arrives in theaters on Sept. 1.
Source: Indiewire