Honestly, if you spent the last year scouring IMDb for a Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal movie, you aren't crazy. You probably saw the headlines. You saw the photos of them standing side-by-side, looking like the ultimate cinematic power duo. But when you went to buy a ticket, you might have realized it wasn't a multiplex you needed to head toward—it was the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway.
The "movie" everyone is talking about is actually the 2025 revival of Shakespeare’s Othello. It became the highest-grossing play in Broadway history, raking in a staggering $2.8 million in a single week. When you put the guy from Training Day and the guy from Nightcrawler on a stage together, people tend to show up.
But here is the twist: a movie version might actually be happening.
Why Everyone Thinks There’s Already a Movie
The confusion is fair. We live in an era where everything is a "content play." Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal have never actually shared the screen in a feature film. Not once. They’ve both played cops, soldiers, and tortured souls, but their paths never crossed until director Kenny Leon put them in a room to talk about the Bard.
The 2025 Othello production wasn't your grandmother's Shakespeare. It was set in the "near future"—think 2028. Denzel played the title role (returning to a character he first played at Fordham University when he was 22), and Gyllenhaal took on Iago, the most manipulative "frenemy" in literary history.
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Because the production was so high-concept and used "near-future" military aesthetics, the promotional stills looked exactly like a high-budget A24 thriller.
The Leon-Washington Track Record
If history tells us anything, a Denzel stage hit usually ends up on a 4K Blu-ray eventually. Look at Fences. Denzel did it on Broadway with Viola Davis, won a Tony, then directed the movie and won Viola an Oscar.
Director Kenny Leon has already confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he and Denzel are "absolutely" discussing an Othello film adaptation. Leon basically said that while theater and film are "two different art forms," the truth of the story stays the same. He wants Gyllenhaal back for the screen version too.
What the "Near Future" Othello Movie Would Look Like
If this project moves from the stage to a soundstage, it won’t be a period piece with tunics and swords. The Broadway version utilized a gritty, modern military vibe. Imagine Sicario meets Hamlet.
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- The Setting: A high-stakes military environment in the late 2020s.
- The Conflict: Iago (Gyllenhaal) is an ambitious lieutenant who gets passed over for a promotion and decides to destroy Othello (Washington) by tricking him into believing his wife, Desdemona, is unfaithful.
- The Dynamic: Washington brings that "towering authority" he perfected in Gladiator II, while Gyllenhaal plays Iago with the twitchy, dangerous intelligence he used in Zodiac.
There’s a bit of a race happening, though. James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is reportedly also trying to get an Othello movie off the ground starring Daniel Craig (who played Iago off-Broadway in 2016). But let's be real: Denzel is the King of Shakespearean adaptations lately. His Tragedy of Macbeth was a visual masterpiece.
Is Denzel Retiring Before This Happens?
This is the big worry. Denzel has been vocal about his "final chapters." He told Today that he only wants to work with the best and that his remaining bucket list is short.
He mentioned Black Panther 3, a project with Steve McQueen, a Hannibal biopic, and Othello. If he follows through on that list, the Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal movie will likely be one of the last few times we see him on the big screen.
Jake Gyllenhaal, on the other hand, is booked solid. He’s got the Road House sequel, a supernatural thriller with M. Night Shyamalan, and his sister Maggie’s Frankenstein movie, The Bride!. Finding a gap in both their schedules is the real "tragedy" here.
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What You Should Actually Watch Right Now
Since the movie isn't in theaters yet, and the Broadway show closed its limited run in June 2025, you’ve got to get your fix elsewhere.
If you want to see why this pairing works, watch Gyllenhaal in Prisoners and then watch Denzel in The Little Things. They both excel at playing men obsessed with a singular, often destructive, goal. They share a certain intensity—a way of staring through the camera—that makes their eventual on-screen pairing feel inevitable.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Track the "Othello Film Company": Keep an eye on Eon Productions' filings. While Broccoli has her own version, Denzel’s massive Broadway success makes his the frontrunner for a major studio pick-up.
- Watch "The Tragedy of Macbeth" on Apple TV+: If you want to see how Denzel handles a director's vision for Shakespeare on film, this is the blueprint. It proves he doesn't need a stage to be theatrical.
- Sign up for BroadwayHD: Often, these "limited engagement" plays are filmed for archival purposes or future streaming releases (like Hamilton). There is a high probability a "Pro-Shot" of the Gyllenhaal/Washington performance exists.
The Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal movie might still be in the "talking stages," but the cultural impact of their collaboration has already moved the needle. We are closer now than we have ever been to seeing these two titans share a frame.