So Vin Diesel’s doing yet another franchise picture. It’s a steady job and the pay is good. Yet, unlike the Fast and Furious, this is a franchise that I want to see get back on track. Of all the characters that Diesel has played, Riddick is probably the one that best plays to his strengths. He’s not asked to drive fast cars or be a a combination of James Bond and an Extreme Sports athlete.
Variety has confirmed that a new Riddick movie is currently in development at Universal with both franchise creator David Twohy and Vin Diesel on board. Twohy will direct his own screenplay and Diesel will also serve as one of the producers. However, unknown is the script that will be used (Twohy had written two versions). Well, if they stick with the dark, edgier version, the sequel can’t be any worse than The Chronicles of Riddick. That movie had some good ideas, but the tone and feel of the original (Pitch Black) was lost to a $120 million budget and PG-13 rating.
Variety says that they’ve heard from insiders that “the third outing will hew closer in tone to the cult hit Pitch Black and will focus on the character of Riddick as opposed to the universe he inhabits.”
There’s no word of when the film will go into production, because Universal has to make sure its production doesn’t conflict with Fast Five.
