Netflix Just Dropped Its Remake of an Action-Thriller Classic — Binge All 7 Episodes Now

Netflix ends April with a bang, dropping an explosive remake of an iconic action thriller—seven bingeable episodes streaming now. Drawn from a five-book saga launched in the 1980s, this story has already hit screens multiple times and is back for more.

Netflix decided to close out April with a bang: Man on Fire is back, not as a movie, but as a seven-episode series you can binge right now. Yes, that Man on Fire — the one with a long, twisty history of adaptations, including the Denzel Washington version that critics shrugged at in 2004 before everyone quietly admitted it ruled.

What this version is

The show dropped April 30 as Netflix's final April release. It comes from creator Kyle Killen and stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as John Creasy, the character born in A.J. Quinnell's five-book thriller run that kicked off in the 80s. On the page, Creasy was a former mercenary. Here, he is a former special forces operative — a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — barely holding it together through PTSD and alcoholism.

The setup: after a terrorist attack, Creasy gets pulled out of the shadows to protect Poe Rayburn, the 16-year-old daughter of a murdered colleague. While he keeps her alive amid repeated attempts on her life, he also goes hunting for the people who blew up his world.

The adaptation angle (for the folks who follow this stuff)

Netflix's Man on Fire is the third big swing at Quinnell's material. Before this:

• 1987: Elie Chouraqui directed a film set in Italy.
• 2004: Tony Scott moved it to Mexico City with Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. It got dinged by critics at first, then grew into an underrated classic.
• This series stretches the story across seven episodes and takes a broader bite of the books, loosely adapting both Man on Fire and The Perfect Kill.
• The action shifts to Rio de Janeiro.
• Instead of a straight kidnapping plot, the engine is a protection mission triggered by a terrorist attack, with Creasy guarding a teenager rather than a younger child.
• Abdul-Mateen II plays Creasy as a quieter, more inward version of the character — a man of few words — with the show leaning into his modern combat background and trauma.

So... is it good?

Early reactions lean mixed-to-positive. There were no Rotten Tomatoes scores posted at launch, but critics generally call it a gritty, dark action piece. Some think the show is an "uninspired" retread that lacks "intrigue and heart" compared to the 2004 film. On the flip side, Abdul-Mateen II comes off as a legit action lead, and the show absolutely delivers on the brutal, hard-hitting set pieces. Net result: a solid binge with enough juice to keep you going episode to episode.

Will there be a Season 2?

Right now, the show is in limbo. Netflix has not announced a renewal. Season 1 only covers the first two books, which leaves three more stories on the shelf if the streamer wants them. Director and executive producer Steven Caple Jr. is game to continue. As he told ComicBook:

"John Creasy is a very interesting character; there's a lot to say, and that's certainly someone I would follow."

Translation: plenty of story left — we just need Netflix to say go.