This is HOT, if you don't mind me saying so!

Those who've seen his last film, last year's criticaly-acclaimed thriller Drive, should know why this is a good look for the project, and for its star, Denzel Washington.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn has been tapped to direct Denzel Washington in its big screen adaptationg of the 1980s TV show, The Equalizer for Sony Pictures and Escape Artists, from a script written by Richard Wenk.

First announced over a year ago, when Russell Crowe was said to be attached to star, Denzel replaced him in the film earlier this year.

The TV series was set in New York, and centered on a former secret agent (played by the late Edward Woodward) with a "mysterious past" who tries to atone for past sins by offering, free of charge, his services as an investigator, aided by a diverse group of other sometimes-mysterious contacts (some of whom date back to his spying days).

Deadline also notes that several directors were being considered for the project, before Sony settled on Refn; and one of those names, who you'll be interested to know, is F. Gary Gray!

That would've been great as well, to have him at the helm, and Denzel starring! But, it's Refn's job now, as deals are being worked out.

The film adaptation reportedly will not be entirely faithful to the TV series; Denzel will play "a solitary, monastic figure who hates injustice and devotes himself to helping people who are being victimized."

No official synopsis yet though.

The series ran for 5 seasons on CBS, and its opening credits soundtrack remember, created by Stewart Copeland of The Police, which actually became a hit for him, was one of its most memorable aspects.

With Refn helming, this probably means we should expect a more hard-hitting, raw, gritty, violent R-rated kind of Equalizer, and not the PG/PG-13 series that was the TV show. This'll probably be more like Denzel Washington in Man On Fire mode.

Production is set to begin in spring 2013.