Vin Diesel teases fans on 'Fast and Furious', 'Riddick' TV spinoffs & prequels; here's everything we know so far [RUMORS]
Both Vin Diesel and "Riddick" film loyal fans alike will be thrilled to know that the science fiction and action franchise is going to hit the theaters once more. And not only that, after two films, "Pitch Black" in 2000 and "The Chronicles of Riddick" in 2004, PC and console games, and derivative novels, Riddick's account of adventures is now set to make its very first TV crossover.
The 48-year-old American actor and producer, who has been widely recognized in the "The Fast and the Furious" film series with his portrayal of the character of Dominic Toretto and as Richard B. Riddick in the "Riddick" movies, took the privilege to do the announcement through his social media account.
"Last night Our company had a party to launch Our TV division. Very exciting. MERC CITY is a show that will follow the Mercs and Bounty Hunters of the Riddick Universe," Diesel wrote in the caption of his Instagram post. "Next Month, DT begins writing the next Chapter in the Chronicles of Riddick... FURIA."
Vin Diesel was referring to David Twohy who was at the directorial helm of the previous "Riddick" films when he wrote "DT." Both of the movie and the TV series would be produced by the actor's own production company One Race Films, according to Zap2it. There were no announcements yet on which TV network "Merc City" will be aired, or whether it would be on cable or an online streaming service.
In an interview with Variety, the actor also revealed that the team behind the popular "Fast and Furious" franchise is already in the works for expansion films, which may include prequels and spinoffs based on the film series.
"We've written out story lines for various characters," he said. "We've been playing with it for a long time. It's a very rich property and we're committed to treating it with a lot of class."
And, it really seems like it is all systems go for the said projects. Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Pictures, confirmed that there were, indeed, talks going around about ways to broaden the series' reach.
"We're certainly in conversations about how we can expand the franchise now," Langley said. "It's an ensemble cast and there's room to bring characters in and out."
Somehow, there is some kind of resemblance on this expansion project and the strategy previously employed by other successful movie franchises like "Star Wars and the "Avengers" films, the Variety also noted.