Ashton Sanders is attached to take the lead role in 'The Equalizer 2'.

Ashton Sanders

Ashton Sanders

The 21-year-old actor, whose breakout role was lead character Chiron in Oscar winning movie 'Moonlight', has reportedly landed another leading role but this time it's in Sony's upcoming movie, directed by Antoine Fuqua.

According to Deadline, Sanders will star opposite Denzel Washington who plays his father figure Robert McCall.

The exact plot details for the sequel have been kept under wraps by screenwriter Richard Wenk but stars from the 2014 movie - Melissa Leo, Bill Pullman and Pedro Pascal - are confirmed to return.

Pascal is expected to play the main villain.

The first movie was based on the 1980s crime drama TV series - which starred the late Edward Woodward as the retired espionage officer McCall - and saw Washington portray a retired CIA black ops operative who lives in Boston and becomes a vigilante against mobsters.

The film, directed by Fuqua, took $192.3 million at the worldwide box office.

Meanwhile, Jason Blumenthal, Todd Black, Washington, Steve Tisch, Mace Neufeld, Alex Siskin and Tony Eldridge are attached to produce.

Filming is expected to start next month in Boston, with an expected release date of September 14, 2018.

Until then, Sanders has wrapped filming for 'Captive State' for Rupert Wyatt and Focus Features and that movie is set to be released in cinemas in August 2018.

Sanders made his film debut in The Retrieval, directed by Chris Eska.