Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Lands Lead Role in ‘Man on Fire’ TV Adaptation

Netflix has zeroed in on its John Creasy for the platform’s upcoming Man on Fire remake.

On Monday, June 10, the streamer announced Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will headline and executive produce the TV adaptation.

The 8-episode drama is based on the A.J. Quinnell’s book series, and will tell the story of John Creasy — a broken ex-mercenary on a mission to avenge the death of his only friend, while protecting his fallen comrade’s daughter from the forces that destroyed her family.

Denzel Washington played Creasy in the hit 2004 film by the same name from director Tony Scott. Dakota Fanning portrayed the nine-year-old girl he was hired to protect. Christopher Walken, Marc Anthony, and Radha Mitchell also had roles in the film.

Also Read: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Calls ‘Aquaman’ Role ‘Clown Work’

As previously reported, Netflix announced the TV adaptation in March 2023, as the search got underway for a lead actor.

Abdul-Mateen, 37, was born in New Orleans and grew up in Oakland, California. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University.

The actor’s credits include playing “Black Manta” in the DC Extended Universe Aquaman films alongside Jason Momoa. He also appeared in Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix musical drama series The Get Down and HBO’s Watchmen, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series.

Quinnell’s Man on Fire novel was first published in 1980. In 1992, he released The Perfect Kill, followed by The Blue Ring, Black Horn and Message from Hell, which ended the book series in 1996.

As previously reported, writer and producer Kyle Killen will write and executive produce the new series alongside his Chapter 11 company colleague Scott Pennington.

Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Bill McGoldrick, and Juan Alfonso from Chernin Entertainment will also serve as executive producers. Additional executive producers include Arnon Milchan, Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer who are part of New Regency Productions, the company that controls the rights to the property and financed Tony Scott’s film.