The Equalizer TV reboot is heating up with a gender twist. CBS is in the works on a new version of the classic 80s TV series, with Queen Latifah (Girls Trip, Beauty Shop) set to star in the lead role. Gender-swapped remakes have become increasingly popular in recent years, as has reviving old, once-popular properties for new generations. This project checks both boxes. The network is looking to breathe some new life into this show with a fresh, modern take.

According to multiple reports, CBS has handed out a pilot order for the series based on the original Equalizer TV show. Queen Latifah will star in the lead role as an "enigmatic figure who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn." Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller (Castle) are behind the new take on the series and are set to serve as showrunners, should The Equalizer score a full-season order. Marlowe and Miller also penned the script. Davis Entertainment, Flavor Unit, Martin Chase Productions, Universal Television and CBS TV Studios have all partnered on the project.

Queen Latifah, in addition to her on-screen role, is set to serve as an executive producer. Should things move forward, it will mark a return to the small screen for the musician and actor, who, earlier in her career, starred in Living Single. The Equalizer started life as a TV show on CBS in 1985. The show centered on Edward Woodward as Robert McCall who helped exact revenge for innocent people, using his skills as a former government agent. The show was quite popular and ran for 88 episodes across four seasons, concluding its run in 1989.

More recently, the show was turned into an action movie franchise starring Denzel Washington in the lead role. The Equalizer, released in 2014 and directed by Antoine Fuqua, was quite successful, bringing in $192 million at the global box office. That led to a sequel, 2018's The Equalizer 2, which saw both Washington and Fuqua return. The sequel was similarly successful, bringing in $190 million at the box office. Now, the property looks to come full circle and make its way back to television, possibly as part of the 2020 season on CBS.

It should be noted this is being eyed to air on CBS's traditional network and not the CBS All Access streaming service. Though, the project is in the relatively early stages and things could change between now and when/if it airs. It's said Universal had been trying to get the property going once again as a TV show for the last handful of years, quite possibly due to the success of the movie. Multiple attempts were made, but nothing materialized until now. There is no word on how soon filming on the pilot could begin, but if this is being eyed for fall 2020, it will be sooner rather than later. This news comes to us via Variety.