Skip to main content

Vin Diesel says a new Riddick movie is coming, and a TV series, too

Vin Diesel has been promising another installment of his Chronicles of Riddick franchise for quite a while now, and he has indicated that development was officially underway last year after 2013’s Riddick managed to turn a tidy profit in the home entertainment market. Over the weekend, Diesel added fuel to the fire by not only indicating that franchise screenwriter David Twohy was going to work on the fourth installment of the series, but that a spinoff series was also being developed for television.

Diesel announced the news via Instagram, offering some updates on what’s to come for his popular antihero Richard B. Riddick, and suggesting that the fourth live-action feature in the franchise will be titled Furia.

Recommended Videos

“Last night our company had a party to launch our TV division,” wrote Diesel in the caption of a photo from 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick featuring himself and Judi Dench on the set of the film. “Very exciting. Merc City is a show that will follow the Mercs and Bounty Hunters of the Riddick Universe. Next Month, DT begins writing the next Chapter in the Chronicles of Riddick … FURIA. #HappyFurianFriday”

Along with Diesel, Twohy has served as the driving force behind the franchise that began with 2000’s sci-fi horror movie Pitch Black, which first introduced Diesel as the deadly one-man army named Riddick. Twohy wrote and directed all three live-action films in the franchise, and also penned the script for the 2004 animated feature The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, among other Riddick-related projects.

Diesel has long hinted that a television series set in Riddick’s universe was a goal of his, and now it looks like that might indeed happen with the in-development Merc City series.

Although the Chronicles of Riddick franchise has never generated a bona fide blockbuster, the films have developed an active fanbase and typically make just enough money at the box office to spawn a sequel — often with a nudge (and support) from Diesel himself. All three films in the series have earned a combined $139 million in U.S. theaters and $267.3 million worldwide, in addition to successful sales in the DVD, Blu-ray, and home-entertainment markets. The last film in the series, 2013’s Riddick, cost approximately $40 million to make and earned $98.3 million worldwide in theaters and another $23 million in DVD and Blu-ray sales.

While Diesel’s character has remained the focal point of the series, past installments have featured Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love (and more recently, Skyfall) actress Judi Dench, Keith David (The Thing), Karl Urban (Star Trek), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), among other notable supporting cast members.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
3 great Hulu movies you need to stream this weekend (May 16 – 18)
Rebecca Ferguson and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Next weekend, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is probably going to be the action movie of the summer. So there's no better time than to revisit the first five films in the franchise on Hulu. But only one of those flicks is among the three great Hulu movies that you need to stream this weekend.

This week's other selections include a dark drama/thriller as well as a recently premiered Hulu original comedy movie. With selections like these, you can put off going to a movie theater for at least another weekend.

Read more
3 underrated HBO Max movies you should watch this weekend (May 16-18)
Kya Clark sits against a tree in Where the Crawdads Sing.

Did you see the latest trailer for Superman? The new footage hammered down the emotional dilemma Superman faces as he tries to find his place in the world. Fans of James Gunn will know the filmmaker has a knack for telling impassioned stories, i.e., the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. Gunn clearly wants to make an emotional superhero epic. We'll find out if that happens on July 11.

Superman will likely stream on HBO Max by the end of 2025. For now, try streaming some under-the-radar movies this weekend. Our suggestions include a South Park documentary, a wild neo-noir, and a mystery romance.

Read more
3 underrated Netflix shows you should watch this weekend (May 16-18)
The Haunting of Bly Manor

Netflix has revolutionized the way we watch television, and while the streaming era has come with plenty of pros, it's also come with a few negatives. One of those negatives is choosing what to watch may not be as simple as turning on your TV. Now, there's a mountain of options to select from, and you're tasked with picking the thing you'd best like.

If that task feels overwhelming, then we've got you covered. We've selected three very different shows that you can stream on Netflix, each of which is well worth your time.

Read more