The Equalizer 2 Trailer: Denzel Washington Is Back In Action

Not all enemies are created equal. 

Sony Pictures Entertainment has just dropped a brand-new trailer for The Equalizer 2, a film that marks a first for star Denzel Washington: it's the only sequel he's ever been in since starting his acting career in 1981. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven) and written by Richard Wenk, the action thriller follow-up flick brings Washington back into the action, giving the seasoned actor his own franchise in the process. 

The Equalizer 2 sees Washington resume his role as ex-CIA black-ops operative Robert McCall, who picked up his bad guy-busting habits after he befriends Alina (Chloë Grace Moretz), a teenage prostitute working for the Russian Mafia who is constantly mistreated and abused, in the original Equalizer movie. This time around, McCall fights to save another innocent life from trouble: a young girl who is about to be kidnapped by her father. His mission takes a turn into the personal when a group of assailants attack McCall's former CIA teammate Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo). 

"They killed my friend, so I'm gonna kill each and every one of them," he professes. "And the only disappointment is that I only get to do it once."

Set to Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer Prize-winning song "Backseat Freestyle," the first trailer for The Equalizer 2 is all kinds of intense. Watch it in full above. 

Joining Washington and Leo for the sequel are Ashton Sanders (Moonlight), Pedro Pascal (Narcos, Game of Thrones), Sakina Jaffrey (House of Cards, Timeless, Red Sparrow), and Bill Pullman (Independence Day, Battle of the Sexes). 

Washington was last seen on the silver screen in 2016's Fences and 2017's Roman J. Israel, Esq., both of which earned him Oscar nominations for Best Actor in their respective release years. 

The Equalizer 2 is due out on July 20.