Denzel Washington is soon to reprise his role in The Equalizer 3, but production on the movie has been subjected to its own brush with the law as police raided the hotel rooms of hired staff and seized 120 grams of cocaine. The movie entered production in Italy last month with Washington returning for the third time as Robert McCall, a vigilante crime-fighter, but it seems catering staff brought in for the production have been flouting the law themselves, leading to the bust.
Washington first took on the role of McCall in 2014, with a sequel arriving four years later. While a third movie was originally discussed at the time, it took until earlier this year for The Equalizer 3 to officially move forward. While this incident isn’t expected to impact the filming schedule of the movie, it could have implications for the hiring of local companies to work on big Hollywood movies in the future.
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A report by Variety shared the details as they appeared in Italian newspaper Il Giornale, which said that the raid on a resort in Maiori took place after the head of the film’s catering staff died of a heart attack the previous night, with bags of cocaine being found in his possession. The result of the bust was two staff members being put under house arrest for drug dealing charges, and another losing their driving license for possession charges. Garbo Produzioni, who is responsible for the service providers on set, has so far not issued a statement on the incident.
How Does The Equalizer Drug Bust Impact Movies Filming In Italy?
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While the incident itself will not have an overall impact on the filming of The Equalizer 3, there could be wider implications when it comes to the hiring of local businesses and companies to work behind the scenes on large-scale productions. With Italy being a country that comes with some enticing tax incentives, companies like Garbo Produzioni are a first-call choice to help out with catering and such. However, no studio wants to think there is a possibility that a production could be held up due to the actions of those being hired, and even though this is one incident, that could be all it takes to tarnish the image.
Outside this issue, work on The Equalizer 3 has been underway for around a month now, and the film is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters in September 2023. As well as Denzel Washington, the threequel will feature Dakota Fanning in an undisclosed role, which is something of a reunion between the two stars who last appeared together almost 20 years ago in Tony Scott’s Man on Fire. There are only a few details known so far about the plot of the latest addition to the franchise, but following in the footsteps of its predecessors, we can expect another thrilling outing for Washington’s McCall as he continues to take on the bad guys in his own way.
