Vin Diesel can usually be found either starring in a franchise or attempting to launch a new one, an approach to his career that has yielded decidedly mixed results. Next year’s Fast & Furious 9 might mark the 20-year anniversary of his first outing as Dominic Toretto and his ninth appearance as the character in total, but the chrome domed action star has been playing Richard B. Riddick for even longer.
Pitch Black was a solid B-level sci-fi that put Diesel firmly on the map as a talent to keep an eye on, and over the last two decades, you get the distinct impression that he might hold the intergalactic convict even closer to his heart than he does Dom. The misguided decision to try and reinvent the franchise as an epic space opera saw The Chronicles of Riddick bomb at the box office, but he did return for a well-received third installment nine years later.
Unfortunately, the fourth outing has been stuck in development hell for years now, but Diesel and writer/director David Twohy frequently reassure us that Furya is happening one day, and now insider Daniel Richtman claims that the Guardians of the Galaxy star wants to make at least three more installments in the series. That’s certainly ambitious given that it took thirteen years to bring the first trilogy to a close and there’s been no new content since 2013, but the leading man has never exactly been shy about his love for the character.
Whether he gets his wish or not, after three movies, one feature-length animation, one short film and two video games, it appears that the gravel-throated actor has no intention of giving up on Riddick anytime soon, no matter how long it takes for the fourth installment to make it to the big screen, never mind a potential fifth and sixth.
