Three years of work will finally pay off next week when Netflix debuts its all-new adaptation of A.J. Quinnell’s novel Man on Fire. Previously brought to life on the big screen in 1987 with Scott Glenn and then again in 2004 with Denzel Washington, the new adaptation updates the material and the character for the modern era, complete with a new icon of the times in the lead role. Starring Marvel and DC actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the new series arrives as the Denzel Washington version of the story has gone through a major reappraisal, having been roasted by critics at the time of its release.
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Speaking with ComicBook in a new interview for the series, Abdul-Mateen II opened up about the influence that the Denzel Washington-starring version of Man on Fire (directed by Tony Scott) had on his performance, citing it as one of his favorite by the Academy Award-winning actor. “I had the task of stacking the deck in my own favor, and the quickest way to lose is to start a comparison game,” Abdul-Mateen II said. “So, I said, ‘Well, what is it that I like about this? And what is it that I want to say?’ And when I’m being true to myself and when I’m having a good time, when I feel like I’m winning, everybody wins.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Details Influence of Denzel on Netflix Series
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II said that playing the story as honestly as possible about a man in the circumstances that John Creasy finds himself in, specifically knowing that it’s one he shouldn’t be in, became amusing for him as a performer. “Looking at Creasy, knowing, oh my goodness, he shouldn’t be here. He’s not ready,” he added. “But then you have to step inside of that character and make him go. That was the exciting journey that really took away any extra pressures that may have come from external places.”
In Netflix’s Man on Fire TV series, the story’s action moves settings once again. The original novel and first film follow a former special forces soldier rescuing a young girl from terrorists in Naples, Italy, with the Washington version shifting the action to Mexico City. For the Yahya Abdul-Mateen II-starring series, the action moves to Rio de Janeiro. The series also shifts John Creasy’s background a bit, making him a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, something that was even more influential on the star than comparing his work to the previous adaptations.
“What I found, in Creasy’s background that was the most important thing for me to pull on was the fact that he had undergone tremendous loss,” Yahya Abdul-Mateen II said. “And it was also the knowledge that that loss hurt him deeply in a way where it stopped him from building friendships and from getting close to anyone. I think the reason why he didn’t want to get close to people was because he didn’t want to lose anyone ever, and become sort of hurt in that way again. That was really more of the universal pain or universal suffering that I gravitated to, that I felt like anyone can relate to the root of my performance in that sort of trauma, and then allow Creasy to be someone who had problems rebuilding himself and creating relationships based off of that trauma.”
He continued, “So that was really more the angle that I took with building Creasy. It was a story of loss and learning how to rebuild from that.”
All seven episodes of Man on Fire will be released on Netflix on April 30, 2026.
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