Netflix is targeting the massive John Wick audience this month. The streaming platform officially scheduled the release of its new original action-thriller series Man on Fire for Thursday, April 30, 2026.
The seven-episode series stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as John Creasy. He plays a former U.S. Army Special Forces mercenary. Creasy suffers from severe PTSD and alcoholism. He takes a job as a bodyguard. The brutal revenge narrative drops all seven episodes simultaneously on launch day.
This release anchors Netflix’s aggressive April 2026 content slate. The platform is pushing to retain subscriber momentum alongside properties like Bloodhounds. The production moved the famous narrative to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Recent teaser trailers confirmed the relocation. Character names were slightly altered to match the new South American setting.
Steven Caple Jr. directed the first two episodes. Kyle Killen built the project as creator, showrunner, and executive producer, according to the official series announcement. The supporting cast includes Billie Boullet, Alice Braga, Scoot McNairy, Paul Ben-Victor, and Bobby Cannavale.
This is the third on-screen adaptation of the 1980 A.J. Quinnell novel. It follows a 1987 film and the famous 2004 Tony Scott movie starring Denzel Washington. But this 2026 iteration marks a definitive franchise first. It is the first time the property is being adapted into an episodic television format.
Industry data indicates it is also the first time the franchise will expand to adapt the narrative from Quinnell’s follow-up sequel novel, The Perfect Kill. The serialized format allows the creative team to explore Creasy’s psychological decay before the inevitable violent revenge sequence kicks off. The expansion signals Netflix’s intent to build a long-term action property out of the existing lore.