Denzel Washington’s Equalizer Film Set Busted In Drug Raid

Caterers working for The Equalizer 3 have been arrested in Italy for dealing and possession of cocaine.

By Douglas Helm | Published

Variety reported that Italian police have raided and busted hotel rooms for the catering company of Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer 3. Two caterers for the film were arrested in the raid, which yielded 120 grams of cocaine. Two of the caterers were placed on house arrest in the hotel for charges of dealing drugs while a third was found in possession of a small amount of cocaine.

The raid came in the wake of the head of the catering service for Denzel Washington’s Equalizer film dying of a heart attack. The body was searched and small bags of cocaine were found, leading the Italian police to suspect there were more drugs to be found. The seaside resort of Maiori was where the catering crew was staying at the time of the raid.

Following the raid of the hotel, the Italian police also conducted a search of one of the production sets that was set up for filming on Denzel Washington’s Equalizer film. The film is currently in its fourth week of shooting. Other than the catering arrests, no other charges have been filed.

It’s unclear at this time if these arrests will slow down production for Denzel Washington’s third film in his Equalizer franchise. It seems unlikely that production will slow too much, as the drugs have been found and the arrests have been made. While catering is no doubt important for a production set, it’s not something that will drastically alter filming schedules.

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Denzel Washington will star alongside Dakota Fanning for The Equalizer 3, reuniting the two for the first time since 2004’s Man on Fire. The Equalizer 3 will once again see Washington as Robert McCall, with the plot details being kept tightly under wraps for now. Along with Washington and Fanning, the film will star David Denman, Sonia Ammar, Gaia Scodellero, and Bruno Bilotta.

Along with reuniting Denzel Washington with Dakota Fanning, The Equalizer 3 will be the fifth collaboration between Washington and director Antoine Fuqua. The two worked on the previous two films in the franchise along with the remake of The Magnificent Seven in 2016 and Training Day in 2001. Richard Wenk penned the script for The Equalizer 3.

Hopefully, there won’t be any more setbacks for Denzel Washington and the crew of The Equalizer 3. The film has a release date set for September 1, 2023, and they likely have a pretty tight filming schedule to make sure everything stays on track. The film is produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Washington, and Fuqua.

For Denzel Washington, The Equalizer 3 is the only upcoming film he has on his docket. While we wait for the third film in the franchise to come out, you’ll have to either revisit the other films in the franchise or check out his most recent performance in The Tragedy of Macbeth on Apple TV. Meanwhile, you can watch the first (and arguably best) collaboration between Washington and Antoine Fuqua — Training Day, which just hit Netflix on November 1.