Vin Diesel, best known for playing the family-loving street racer turned globe-trotting mercenary Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious franchise, has teased the return of another one of his iconic characters: Riddick.
The Chronicles Of Riddick is a sci-fi franchise that started back in 2000 with the release of director David Twohy's low-budget action-horror film Pitch Black. The film starred Diesel as Richard B. Riddick, a dangerous prisoner being transported across the galaxy in a spaceship. After crash landing on a desolate planet filled with vicious nocturnal creatures, Riddick joins forces with the other members of the crew in hopes that they can escape the deadly planet.
While it initially received mixed reviews, the film has developed a strong fanbase and spawned a decades-long cross-media franchise. Diesel reprised the role in the 2004 sequel The Chronicles Of Riddick and then again in 2013 for the third film, Riddick. Diesel produced both sequels and will serve as a producer on the fourth installment, Riddick 4: Furya. Recently, the F9 star posted an old photo of himself on Instagram as the character Riddick followed by the caption, "Incredible meeting today, thanks team you know who you are... Let’s just say Furia may be closer than you think. #Riddick".
It's unclear how far into development Riddick 4 is, but based on this post it looks like fans might get to see the character return to the big screen sooner than later. Plot details are unknown at this time, but the title could mean that Riddick will once again try to return to his homeworld of Furya. In the franchise, Riddick is a Furyan, a warrior race of adapted humans who were nearly wiped out by a military campaign that left their homeworld desolate. Riddick is one of the last of his kind, so hopefully, he will be reunited with his fellow Furyan's in the upcoming film.
While not as popular as Diesel's Fast and Furious character, Riddick helped launch the actor's movie career and made him into the star that he is today. Pitch Black was released roughly a year before the first Fast and Furious movie and was Diesel's first leading role.
Before Pitch Black, he was largely known for a small role in Steven Speilberg's WWII epic Saving Private Ryan and for voicing the gentle robot in the beloved animated film The Iron Giant. Now, over twenty years later, Diesel will star as the space mercenary turned outlaw once again.
Until then you can watch Diesel's latest action movie F9, which is now available on home media and VOD.
Source: Vin Diesel | Instagram