Denzel Washington Wants A Man On Fire Musical

If Denzel Washington could bring one of his films to the stage, he’d choose Man on Fire.

Directed by Tony Scott, it stars the Oscar-winner as John W. Creasy, a former CIA officer hired by a wealthy family in Mexico to protect their daughter, Pita (Dakota Fanning), amid a spate of brutal kidnappings. When she’s taken, he hunts down the gang responsible. ‘I’m gonna kill ’em; anyone who was involved, anybody who profited from it, anybody who opens their eyes at me.’

Critics weren’t so warm on the film upon release, but it’s since enjoyed a reappraisal as one of Scott and Washington’s most underrated efforts – probably because it was already phenomenal in the first place. He sticks a bomb up a man’s butt and shoots an RPG into the middle of a street – if you’re not having fun, what’s wrong with you?

In a new interview on Jake Hamilton’s Jake’s Takes, Washington discussed Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, in which he stars as the titular doomed king. When asked if there was a role he’s only played on-screen that he’d like to bring to a live audience, he said, ‘For some reason, Man on Fire came to mind, but that would be bloody – that would be a mess!’

Hamilton jokes that he’d give him every cent he owns. ‘I think as a musical,’ Washington added, before singing, ‘Creasy bear’ and ‘I wish you had more time’, a quote from one of the movie’s most… explosive moments, let’s just say.

I’ve never considered the idea of Man on Fire as a stage show, never mind a musical, but now it’s all I want. ‘I would love this. Man on Fire already isn’t talked about enough!’ one user commented.

‘Man on Fire on stage would be amazing,’ another wrote. ‘I would see Man on Fire on stage live a million times if he did,’ another tweeted.

If, like me, you’re now distracted by how much you want to watch Man on Fire, it’s available to stream on Netflix now.