Xander Cage is, first and foremost, a daredevil. First introduced more than a decade ago in Rob Cohen’s gleefully over-the-top actioner xXx, over the years Cage has been unwittingly pushed to the sidelines as Vin Diesel’s attention was drawn to the Fast and Furious franchise.
Even at eight films in, Universal’s lucrative street-racing series continues to rake in the big numbers at the international box office – its latest installment, The Fate of the Furious, is on course for April 14, 2017 – but Diesel has carved out room on his busy schedule to revive his forgotten action hero, and so we stand on the cusp of xXx: Return Of Xander Cage.
Headed up by director D.J. Caruso, Return of Xander Cage looks set to deliver a riotous romp of B-movie proportions, with the latest clip showcasing Diesel’s thrill-seeker leaping from a radio tower without a care in the world. It’s Far Cry on steroids, essentially, and if nothing else, Caruso’s threequel (franchise revival?) looks set to deliver a cinematic thrill ride teeming with eye-popping stunts.
Whether that’s enough to draw in the moviegoing masses is another question entirely, but the cast on board is not to balked at; starring opposite Diesel are Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, the returning Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Tony Jaa, F.C. Barcelona playmaker Neymar Jr., Nina Dobrev and Andrey Ivchenko as the film’s chief antagonist.
On January 20, moviegoers will welcome The Return of Xander Cage, but will it be a triumphant homecoming for Diesel and Co.? Time will tell.
