Today, during their CinemaCon presentation, Sony Pictures announced The Equalizer 2, a sequel to The Equalizer, last years hard-boiled action thriller about an ex-CIA agent drawn back into action when the Russian mob threatens a young woman he's grown to care for. From director Antoine Fuqua, sleeper hit starred Denzel Washington, Martin Csokas, Chloe Moretz and Haley Bennett and went on to gross $200 million world-wide on a $55 million budget.

Sony always intended to spin the film into a franchise vehicle for Washington, as was made clear when they started moving forward on the sequel in February of last year - seven months before the film even hit theaters - after The Equalizer reaped the highest-rated test screening for any R-rated movie in Sony history. Producer Todd Black expressed a similar sentiment when Steve spoke with him about the film last year:

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Image via Sony

You know, we’re all committed to do a second movie until there isn’t a second movie.  I mean if it works and the audiences like it and it works critically and financially, I’m sure Sony and Denzel and all of us will want to do a second movie, but you never go into these thinking that because you never know.  So you do have to satisfy certain questions that are necessary to answer in case there isn’t a second one, but you hope for a second one.

Well hope no more, because it's happening. We don't know any specifics on the sequel at this point, as Sony announced the project by debuting the logo, but stay tuned for updates. What do you think? Were you hoping to see an Equalizer sequel? Would you like to see Fuqua return in the director's chair? Sound off in the comments.

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Image via Sony