Vin Diesel Making A Video Game For One Of His Iconic Characters?
Vin Diesel may be revisiting one of his iconic characters in video game format.
This article is more than 2 years old
Vin Diesel might be making a video game for one of his iconic characters, and if you thought about his best-known role of Dominic Toretto – you were wrong. Though he’ll always be remembered to moviegoers as Toretto, hordes of sci-fi-loving fans best know Diesel for his portrayal of Riddick.
According to GamesRadar+, Vin Diesel revealed an update on the long-anticipated fourth chapter in the Riddick cinematic franchise, praising director David Twohy for writing a fantastic script for the film, which is supposed to be filmed in Australia. The fourth installment, codename Furya, isn’t officially announced yet, but Diesel previously confirmed that the development began in early 2017. With that said, The Chronicles of Riddick franchise has a special relationship with its video games, which it uses as filler narratives between movie releases, and the upcoming Furya might create an empty space for a video game.
As far as the movie franchise goes, Vin Diesel starred in all three Riddick movies: 2000’s Pitch Black, 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick, and 2013’s Riddick, all of which had mediocre box-office performance but incredibly high DVD and Blu-ray sales. However, the franchise’s owners, and Vin Diesel himself, had massive success with the release of the first Riddick game, called The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, released in 2004 for Xbox and PC. The game’s narrative was set as a prequel to the first film, Pitch Black, which established Riddick’s history and explained the surgical shine job done on his eyes. It also involves Riddick’s escape from the eponymous prison and sets the stage for future movie and gaming releases by introducing him to his Furyan origins.
However, the game couldn’t make it on Xbox 360 because of compatibility issues, which prompted its developer, Starbreeze Studios, to develop a sequel called Assault on Dark Athena. The game was released in 2009 for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3, which is receiving massive console bans due to possible data breach at Sony. The game also contained an enhanced version of Escape from Butcher Bay for Xbox 360 owners to enjoy, and together the two titles covered the events predating those of Pitch Black. Certain things happened between Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, but those were explored in 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury animated film, which also featured Vin Diesel, in both appearance and vocals. There’s also talk about Vin Diesel making a Riddick TV series.
These releases close any narrative gaps concluding with the release of 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick. Unfortunately for the franchise’s fandom, there’s a 5-year gap in the story between the 2004’s film and the 2013’s Riddick movie that still hasn’t been filmed – and it’s just asking for a game. But that’s not the only gap; the plot of the alleged Furya movie is happening on Riddick’s home planet, creating space for a filler narrative. Perhaps one as big and successful as Vin Diesel’s Escape from Butcher Bay?
The upcoming Furya still has no filming or release date, but at least the fandom got some confirmation that the movie is moving forward. Given the franchise’s relationship with its video games, it’s likely that we’ll have to wait for Furya’s release before we witness Vin Diesel in another Riddick video game.
