Denzel Washington's Action-Packed 52% Rotten Tomatoes Sequel Is About to Leave Hulu Behind (2025)

Christmas is the time of year for being with family, exchanging gifts, and all around being merry, but Hulu is opting instead to leave a lump of coal in the stockings of The Equalizer fans. On Christmas Day, December 25, the 2018 Denzel Washington sequel, The Equalizer 2, will be departing the service, ending Robert McCall's time on the platform for now. With the move, only one of the three action films will currently be available to watch on any streaming service outside a digital purchase, as last year's The Equalizer 3 remains on Netflix.

The Equalizer 2 is somewhat seen as the awkward middle child of the franchise despite bringing more of the same action. Compared to the original or the Certified Fresh and Verified Hot trilogy capper, director Antoine Fuqua's second outing with McCall has earned more mixed reviews, as indicated by the 52% critic score and 61% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows the elusive vigilante's continued efforts to seek justice on behalf of the innocent when his past comes back to haunt him. Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), his best friend and former colleague, is murdered by thugs in what initially appears to be a burglary gone wrong, until McCall deduces that she was actually targeted by trained killers. He sets out in search of revenge, entangling him with deadly forces determined to bring him down.

Opposite the returning Fuqua and Leo for the sequel was a bevy of talent, headlined by Washington's Gladiator II co-star Pedro Pascal as McCall's former partner and new foe Dave York. Before he played Joel from The Last of Us and Din Djarin of The Mandalorian, he took on one of his most mysterious roles to date with the film, showing a more villainous side in the process. The trio were also joined by Ashton Sanders, Bill Pullman, Jonathan Scarfe, Sakina Jaffrey, and Orson Bean in his final film role before his death in 2020. Also rejoining the team after his work on the first film was writer Richard Wenk, who would go on to pen the third film as well.

'The Equalizer' Franchise Isn't About to Say Goodbye

Despite indications that The Equalizer 3 would mark the end of Fuqua, Washington, and Wenk's take on the Equalizer franchise, reports of McCall's retirement may have been greatly exaggerated. Washington recently told Esquire that a fourth and fifth movie are in development under Sony Pictures. It's easy to understand from Sony's perspective, given that each film has consistently made around $190 million at the box office, but the series star similarly believes it makes sense because of the nature of the crowd-pleasing action flicks.

"But I’ve come to realize that the Equalizer films are for me, too, because they’re for the people. They want me to go get the bad guys. ‘We can’t get them, so you go get them.’ And I say, 'Okay, I’ll get them! Just wait right there. I’ll be right back!'"

These films are likely far away, but there's still plenty of content for fans of the franchise to take in beyond the big screen too, with the Queen Latifah-led CBS series currently going strong in its fifth season and about to release a holiday episode.

The Equalizer 2 will remain on Hulu until December 25. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the latest titles coming to and leaving streaming.

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The Equalizer 2

Crime

Action

Thriller

The Equalizer 2 is the follow-up film to Antoine Fuqua's 2014 The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington as Robert McCall. The sequel was released four years later and follows McCall as he seeks revenge after one of his close friends is murdered. The film wasn't as well received as the first movie but was still considered a worthy addition to the Equalizer franchise.

Release Date

July 20, 2018

Director

Antoine Fuqua

Cast

Bill Pullman , Ashton Sanders , Denzel Washington , Pedro Pascal , Melissa Leo

Runtime

121 Minutes

Watch on Hulu