Things are looking a bit more positive for fans waiting for the final chapter in the proposed “Chronicles of Riddick” movie trilogy. It’s been reported by Moviehole that casting director Anne McCarthy (“Pitch Black,” “Chronicles of Riddick,” “Insidious”) has begun scouting for a few supporting roles to be featured in the formerly titled “The Chronicles of Riddick: Dead Man Stalking.” The movie’s name has been changed to simply “Riddick.” This leads me to believe that main star Vin Diesel has finally agreed to take the pay cut that was required to make the film R-rated like both he and director David Twohy wanted.
Twohy had received the green light from producers to begin work on an R-rated “Riddick” as early as the beginning of this summer, but Diesel had to commit to working for scale upfront. The actor commented about the pay cut via his Facebook account: “Money is always second to art, integrity and spirit … but the real issue is deeper. Can I suspend my life, to momentarily venture to that dark place … called Riddick.”
Apparently Diesel has decided to sign on the dotted line and return to that dark place known as Riddick. It would not make sense for casting director McCarthy to move forward with additional casting if Diesel had not agreed yet.
Diesel and Twohy have been very verbal about wanting to do a follow-up to “The Chronicles of Riddick” for a while now. They both posted concept art for the film and even a video talking to fans about what they want to do with it via their Facebook pages and blogs. It looks like the time has finally come for the production ball to get rolling.
According to a synopsis given to website Bloody Disgusting, the movie would revolve around, “Riddick, [who has been] betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet. He has been fighting for survival against alien predators and has become more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.”
The roles being cast for “Riddick” include Boss Johns, who is the father of William J. Johns (Cole Hauser) from “Pitch Black.” The other roles are that of Santana, the “sexy” female mercenary Dahl, and the smug commander Krone. Johns is contacted by the (sexy?) mercenaries and, with help from his assistant Santana, captures Riddick to find out what exactly happened to his son.
“Pitch Black” was a surprise hit with horror and sci-fi fans when it came out in 2000. It also helped establish Diesel as a bad boy action star. 2004’s “The Chronicles of Riddick” made more money at the box office than the first film, further showing that there was a growing audience for Diesel and the movie’s character. Since then, there have been two video games (The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena) and an animated direct-to-DVD movie (“The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury”) keeping the appetites of fans satisfied.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
Universal’s Supposed ‘Wolfman’ Sequel Gets Synopsis
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