Summary

Denzel Washington has been one of the most consistently entertaining thespian of the last 30 old age , butThe Equalizeris his only moving-picture show franchise . Although he has star in mass of picture show that could well have spawned sequels , Denzel Washington has n’t appear in many franchises , preferring instead to focus on standalone movies . His upcoming purpose inGladiator 2will home execute the first time he has ever join another franchise after the first movie , but it ’s unlikely he will make a habit of this based on his vocation story until this point .

Washington ’s movies are largely split between propulsive detective thrillers and more prestigious fictitious character - driven oeuvre . It would n’t make horse sense for many of his best films to become franchises , since they tell powerful ego - contained stories , but some of his activity thriller seem unadulterated for continuation and spinoffs . There have been a few attempts over the days to get more sequels off the land , but none of them have come to realization . Even though many Denzel Washington moving picture finish with the hope of more to come , they have never turned into long - running franchises .

With a career spanning over four decades , Denzel Washington has long become a family name , and here are all of his movies , rate .

Denzel Washington in The Equalizer 3

8Inside Man (2006)

Spike Lee tried to make a sequel to his heist thriller for years

Cast

One ofDenzel Washington ’s movies with Spike Lee , Inside Manis a twisty , intelligent heist thriller set in New York . Denzel play a detective who matches wit with a cunning thief , act as by Clive Owen , with a bank full of hostage . Inside Manis full of interesting patch twists , and enter Jodie Foster late in the game modify the direction of the entire floor . Inside Manlooked set for a subsequence to begin with , but Spike Lee could n’t guarantee funding . Owen ’s character is a fascinating villain , and his dynamic with Washington could have well generated another gamey - stake thriller .

A unmediated - to - video sequel , Inside Man : Most Wanted , was unfreeze in 2019 . However , without Spike Lee or any of the plastic film ’s original doer , it is a subsequence in name only .

7The Little Things (2021)

The central mystery in The Little Things is never definitively solved

Thanks to a shuddery functioning from Jared Leto , The Little Thingsprovides a novel gadget on Denzel Washington ’s common detective drama . Washington plays Joe Deacon , a pig who must confront his failure when a in series killer whale from his past reemerges . Deacon team up up with a rookie , played by Rami Malek , and the two zero in an unsettling loner , Alfred Sparma . Deacon is an immoral cop who does n’t waver to cross legal boundaries when he thinks he is in the right . The Little Thingsnever confirms the true killer whale , leaving way for a likely sequel where the murder continue .

6Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)

The period detective drama teases a sequel right at the end

Devil in a Blue Dressis a fashionable neo - noir thriller dress in Los Angeles shortly after World War II . Washington and Don Cheadle encounter two old friends search for a miss woman , although they regain themselves always under threat from the police , anti-Semite pack , and the family . The terminate ofDevil in a Blue Dressseems like the complete means to set up a franchise , with Washington ’s character suggesting that he will set up a individual detective business . Washington and Cheadle could have been an excellent duo solving more pillow slip in the atmospheric post - war haze of L.A.

5The Pelican Brief (1993)

One of Washington’s finest performances could easily have had a sequel

While the secret plan is a compelling tingle ride , the alchemy between Washington and Roberts is just as important to the photographic film ’s success .

Based on a novel by John Grisham , The Pelican Briefpairs Denzel Washington with Julia Roberts in a propulsive subspecies to expose the corporate greed behind a string of high - profile assassination . While the plot of ground is a compelling charge drive , the chemistry between Washington and Roberts is just as authoritative to the film ’s succeeder . The Pelican Briefcuts out the romancethat is in Grisham ’s novel , but there ’s still an underlying compatibility between the two leads , signify that a continuation could further research the nature of their family relationship as they undertake another political confederacy .

Oscar victor Denzel Washington ’s mainstream body of work is fecund . However , he has peck of underrated use under his knock many are n’t familiar with .

15 Underrated Denzel Washington Performances

4Training Day (2001)

Reports of a prequel persist over 20 years later

breeding Dayshowcases Denzel Washington ’s ability to inject military action thrillers with brilliant touches of humor . He star alongside Ethan Hawke as a dyad of narcotics officers in Los Angeles over the course of a undivided twenty-four hour period . Denzel Washington ’s performance as Alonzo Harris earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor , and his moral force with Hawke makes the movie tick off . Although a sequel would be unimaginable , there have been reports of aTraining Dayprequel moviefor years , which could finally set in motion a franchise that could have begun over 20 years ago .

Denzel Washington ’s Academy Award Nominations For Best doer

Movie

Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stefanie looking horrified in Final Destination Bloodlines

Role

Malcolm X ( 1992 )

Malcolm X

Denzel Washington with blood spatter on his face as Robert McCall in The Equalizer 3.

The Hurricane ( 1999 )

Rubin " The Hurricane " Carter

Training Day ( 2001 )

Headshot Of Denzel Washington In The Premiere Of Apple Original Films' and A24’s

Alonzo Harris

Flight ( 2012 )

William " Whip " Whitaker Sr .

Headshot Of Clive Owen

Fences ( 2016 )

Troy Maxson

Roman J. Israel , Esq . ( 2017 )

Headshot Of Jodie Foster In The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Roman J. Israel

The Tragedy of Macbeth ( 2021 )

Macbeth

Headshot Of Christopher Plummer

3The Bone Collector (1999)

Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie’s mystery thriller is based on a novel with plenty of sequels

Washington and Jolie uncovering a string of successive killers could have made for a fantastic mystery franchise .

Angelina Jolie takes on most of the action mechanism duty inThe Bone Collector , with Denzel Washington hold in to a bed as the quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme . Washington and Jolie make a capital squad as they attempt to pursue a puzzling trail of clues bequeath by a sadistic serial killer whale . The Bone Collectoris found on a novel by Jeffrey Deaver , and there are many more book featuring the same characters . Unfortunately , only the first one was adjust into a motion-picture show . Washington and Jolie uncover a string of serial killer could have made for a marvellous mystery dealership .

2Déjà Vu (2006)

A sci-fi premise with much more room to explore

Denzel Washington does n’t appear in many sci - fi movies , butDéjà Vuadds meter locomotion to his more familiar role as an all - action at law investigator . After a terrorist attack on a boat kills hundreds of people , Doug Carlin is enlist by the FBI to join a top - secret government political platform with access to engineering that can look back into the past . A franchise establish on Doug Carlin and his squad attempting to preclude further fire after they had already come about could have been interesting , as it could have turn over into time travel paradox and the ethics of altering the past .

1Fallen (1998)

The paranormal crime thriller could have been just the first chapter

LikeDéjà Vu , Fallenadds a unusual twist on a detective play . Denzel Washington plays a homicide detective in Philadelphia who conceive he is go after a copycat grampus , but his investigation leads him to suspect that a demon is possessing multiple multitude to stockpile out evil deed . Fallensometimes struggles to submit its two disparate genres , butit ’s a unique assumption that deserve further exploration . As always , Washington is a driving force behind the parts of the movie which put to work best . The ending suggest that the demon escapes unharmed , potentially fix up a paranormal mystery franchise .

Denzel Washington as Deputy Sheriff Joe “Deke” Deacon and Rami Malek as James “Jim” Baxter in The Little Things.

Cast Placeholder Image

Isabel Arraiza

Headshot Of Stephanie Erb

Denzel Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress

Headshot Of eva mendes In The 2008 CFDA Fashion Awards

Headshot Of Ethan Hawke In The Screening of Raymond And Ray During The 47th TIFF

Headshot Of Scott Glenn

Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector

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Headshot Of Queen Latifah

Headshot Of Leland Orser

Denzel Washington in Out of Time

Denzel Washington as Detective John Hobbes in Fallen