Admittedly, Vin Diesel isn’t necessarily hurting for franchises right now. This weekend, for instance, sees the actor/producer reprising the titular role in xXx: Return of Xander Cage, while later this year he’ll star in The Fate of the Furious and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Given his involvement with the latter, Diesel’s already pretty close with Marvel, but it seems he wants to take their relationship to the next level.
For years, the studio has tried to bring the Inhumans from the page to the screen. In that time, Diesel has also worked hard to make it happen with him at the front of the project. Unfortunately for the actor, however, The Inhumans will now arrive in the form of a television series, nixing any film aspirations for the time being. Bullheaded as ever, though, Diesel still hopes that the Inhumans will make their way to the silver screen, with him in a starring role.
In an interview for the aforementioned xXx sequel, Diesel told Screen Rant that he isn’t one to give up on his chances with the Inhumans, even though they now look rather slim for him.
I think Marvel should never—I don’t think Marvel should abandon their opportunity to make a film out of it. I think it could be a huge, huge saga, and if I had more time I would go over to Marvel and have that very conversation. But I think it would be a big mistake for Marvel to abandon their ambitions or their objective or their goals of making it into a film, because it would make such a cool universe.
Diesel would’ve played Black Bolt in the superhero blockbuster, based on early rumors. While he could, theoretically, still portray the character on the show, the movie star would have to take a massive pay cut, and that’s not likely going to happen given how popular he is in Hollywood.
The Inhumans will still make their way to the biggest screens in the world, though probably not with the Fast and Furious actor involved. The pilot for the series will be shown on IMAX screens for two weeks starting Labor Day weekend, before airing on ABC on September 26, 2017. That’s an ambitious plan, one should note, but hopefully it pays off. If Marvel’s new show proves successful, perhaps Diesel will get his wish and the characters will get their feature film adaptation.