Currently riding the fast cash wave of Furious 7‘s global box office domination, Vin Diesel has once again taken to his official Facebook page to share the news that his new action fantasy thriller The Last Witch Hunter might not be the only installment of a fledgling franchise.
“So the studio apparently is so excited by ‘The Last Witch Hunter’ – The Axe and Cross franchise… that they are already commencing on the next one,” Diesel writes. “The first one doesn’t hit theaters until October 23rd, yet they want me to commit and already block out time to film it. As always, I love to hear your feedback…”
So what do you think? The more Diesel the better, or should the fast-driving star pump the breaks and remember his haste in predicting a trilogy of Chronicles of Riddick films to serve as a “Lord of the Rings” to Pitch Black‘s “The Hobbit”? Lionsgate, the studio behind The Last Witch Hunter, is currently in the grip of franchise fever as they try to map their post-Hunger Games future, so it’s very plausible that these early talks could bear fruit and Diesel’s Kaulder will be wielding a flaming sword for many years to come.
The modern world holds many secrets, but the most astounding secret of all is that witches still live amongst us; vicious supernatural creatures intent on unleashing the Black Death upon the world. Armies of witch hunters battled the unnatural enemy across the globe for centuries, including Kaulder (Diesel), a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful Queen Witch, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen curses Kaulder with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today Kaulder is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to Kaulder, the Queen Witch is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race.
Directed by Breck Eisner (The Crazies) and also starring Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood and Michael Caine, The Last Witch Hunter hits theaters on October 23.
