by Andy Gibbons

Given the barrage of derision that greeted his ‘Nottingham’ accent in Robin Hood, you’d have thought that Russell Crowe would have been keen to avoid any roles that may have required a UK-based tilt for the forseeable future. But according to the Los Angeles Times, the artist formally known as Russ Le Roq is going to head up a big screen version of small screen ‘80s TV hit The Equalizer.

The show starred Brit abroad Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a former secret agent who looked to atone for his previous misdemeanours by serving as a vigilante on the mean streets of New York. Russell is set to slip into McCall’s finely tailored suits for the movie although it’s not clear if this modern-day reworking will retain the character’s UK roots – maybe they should play it safe and have McCall as a retired Aussie agent?

Rumours of an Equalizer movie have been doing the rounds for years now and maybe it’s best that the groundwork on this had already been done as, after The A-Team’s poor showing at the US box office, studio bosses may be reluctant to green light many more TV adaptations.