Now, Wonder Man alum Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has taken on the role of Creasy for Netflix's new thriller series, which actually adapts both Man on Fire and its sequel novel, The Perfect Kill. The show sees Creasy approached by his friend and fellow veteran, Paul Rayburn, and recruited as part of his security team in Brazil, while also forming a bond with Rayburn's teen daughter, Poe. When a devastating bomb is set off, killing both Paul and his entire family, except for Poe, Creasy springs into action to get revenge and discover the truth behind the bombing.
Alongside Abdul-Mateen II, the Man on Fire cast includes Billie Boullet as Poe, Bobby Cannavale as Paul, Scott McNairy, Alice Braga, Paul Ben-Victor and Thomás Aquino. Hailing from Halo alum Kyle Killen, the action-thriller set a new record for adaptations of Quinnell's novels on Rotten Tomatoes, becoming the best-reviewed one yet from critics, while also garnering a solid 69% approval rating from audiences.
Ahead of its April 30 premiere, ScreenRant's Ash Crossan interviewed Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and director/executive producer Steven Caple Jr. to discuss Man on Fire. When asked about finding their own unique approach to the character compared to the Denzel Washington and Scott Glenn films, Caple Jr. chuckled as he denoted that "it's not my first rodeo dealing with IP that's known, or things that are legendary," having previously helmed the Rocky spinoff sequel Creed II and the most recent live-action Transformers installment, Rise of the Beasts.
With that in mind, the director/EP went on to share that "it's always just about the character itself" to determine his in for any previously-adapted IP. As for Man on Fire's Creasy, he acknowledges that "there's a bit of an overlap" across all three iterations in the sense of "the trauma he's [carrying from] the past," though says one of the biggest things that helps set the Netflix series apart is that "the plot engine is different":
Steven Caple Jr.: Yahya's different in terms of what he brings to the table. A different age, so there's more we can probably do — I didn't say that aloud [laughs] — in terms of action sequences that were done, and pulled off and felt realistic. So that allowed us to acknowledge that there was a version of the two films and books, but also there was enough room to build our own print, our own stamp, in terms of what we wanted to say and do. And I think we've done that with the action we have, with the settings that we have and, honestly, the cast.
As for Abdul-Mateen II, he shared that when he approaches a familiar character, he reflects on "what your responsibility is" with said role, and found that for Man on Fire, his "job was to make it my own." He subsequently went back and watched Washington and Glenn's films, as it was "important to know what the audience loves," given viewers are the "big ingredient in all of this":
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: They're the conversation. They're the culture. They bring the energy to the projects, and they know what they like. So, when I'm creating something that is in the conversation of something that has been done before, I don't always necessarily look at the performance to see what I should do, but I do try to tap into the culture of those movies, and the culture of those performances to see if there's anything that would be useful for me to keep in mind during my iteration.
In looking back on the prior adaptations, much like what Caple Jr. shared, Abdul-Mateen II found the one consistency in Creasy across both films was the "heart and soul" that drives him forward. As he took to believing in that, and that "my writers and my directors believe in that," they then went to "go see what else I can get" from the character to "really become mine." He concluded by sharing that the biggest point of excitement for him in the series to tackle was "the truth of this character's incredible, incredible circumstances."
Caple Jr. Was In Awe By One Of His Man On Fire Star's Physicality
ScreenRant: This is the first time we're seeing a TV adaptation, and it's also pulling from not one, but two books. So was there anything that you gathered from that second novel that we haven't seen before that makes this version unique to you?
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: No. I mean, I got everything I needed from those pages. I got everything I needed from the pages that were in front of me, and there was plenty to source from.
ScreenRant: You were talking about the cast. Is there anything that somebody did on set that surprised you and maybe changed the way that the character played out?
Steven Caple Jr.: That's a great question. Yes, we have two characters. They're Brazilian actors, but one in particular, we did quite a few torture scenes, if you check out the series. But there was one where the physicality of one of the actors, he was a breakdancer. So on set, we kind of made it up on the spot of how we were going to torture him. So he's, like, hanging from a chain, and he did that the entire time. The way he just moved his body throughout that sort of sequence, all of that was sort of — I don't want to say improvised on the day, but this actor brought just another level of acting chops. It felt horrifying to shoot, because all his yells felt real. There were moments where Yahya's looking at me like, "Is this thing really burning?" And he was just dangling on this chain, and his stuntman was like, "Is he safe? Is he okay?" But it felt like he knew how to work his body. That was surprisingly different, because it's not too many times you get to do that. And there was also a language barrier, too, constantly checking in with the cast to make sure they're okay. You're just making sure, like, "Hey, you don't have to overdo it. Are you all right?" That surprised me.
Be sure to dive into some of our other Man on Fire-related coverage with:
Man on Fire is available to stream in its entirety on Netflix!
-
Release Date
April 30, 2026
Network
Netflix
-
-
Billy Blanco Jr.
President Carmo
-
Juan Rosas/Netflix
English (US) ·