The only thing that Vin Diesel loves more than wearing a vest and mumbling the word ‘family’ is starring in a franchise. After all, the action icon has Fast & Furious 9 arriving next year and the tenth installment already in the works, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a fourth Riddick, fourth XXX and a sequel to The Last Witch Hunter are all in various stages of development, too.
So far, his involvement in the comic book genre has been restricted to being attached to play Black Bolt in Marvel’s abandoned Inhumans and a voice-only role as Groot, as well as the already-forgotten Bloodshot, which is rumored to be getting rebooted anyway after the first installment in the proposed Valiant Cinematic Universe stumbled out of the gate.
However, we’ve now heard that the gravel-throated actor hasn’t given up on his dreams of headlining a comic book franchise of his own, and he’s reportedly got his sights set on a character that has so far struggled to escape from development hell.
According to our intel – which comes from the same sources that told us a Justice League Dark show is in the works for HBO Max and Percy Jackson is being rebooted as a streaming series, both of which were correct – Diesel has reportedly told Warner Bros. and DC that he’s interested in starring in the long-gestating live-action debut of cult favorite Lobo. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll get the part, but he is indeed interested in it.
Of course, the studio have been trying to get Lobo made for over a decade at this point with Guy Ritchie, Brad Peyton and Michael Bay all flirting with the project over the years, while Diesel’s arch-nemesis Dwayne Johnson was once in talks for the lead role, too. Assuming he can pull off the character’s signature look without looking ridiculous under a long, luscious wig then, it can’t be denied that the 53 year-old certainly possesses the physicality and gruff charisma that’s pivotal to making Lobo work in live-action. Not to mention he’s definitely a big enough name to sell the more obscure property to the masses, especially if the movie is being set up as part of the wider DCEU.
