Denzel Washington's action trilogy The Equalizer became available to stream on HBO Max on 1 July, giving audiences fresh access to a franchise the article frames as a rare example of a reboot that eclipses its source material. The films reimagine the 1985 CBS series of the same name, updating the character of Robert McCall — a former covert-ops spy seeking to atone for his past — for a modern action era in the vein of John Wick and Nobody.

The original series, created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, starred Edward Woodward as a vigilante-for-hire in New York City and peaked in its second season with an average weekly audience of around 15 million, before being cancelled after four seasons amid a contract dispute between CBS and Universal. Washington took on the role 25 years later, playing a lower-profile McCall who works at a hardware store but is drawn back into violence, first against a Russian mafia-linked pimp, then across sequels set around a vigilante-for-hire operation (2018's The Equalizer 2) and a cyber-heist in Italy (The Equalizer 3). All three films were directed by Antoine Fuqua, who previously guided Washington to his 2001 Oscar for Training Day.