Ever the master of social media, megastar Vin Diesel took to his Facebook page for an unannounced live video on Tuesday in which he teased to nearly 200,000 viewers his “special guest” which turned out to be David Twohy, the mastermind behind the Riddick franchise. You can check out the full video below, which revealed that they will start filming the new fourth chapter titled Furia in early 2017 (after Diesel gets his newborn child Pauline up and walking), that it will be an origin story of where Riddick comes from, what rating they are aiming for, as well as news on the spin-off series “Merc City.”
“Are you guys excited to hear about ‘Furia’? Do you want to know where it all began with that dark character Riddick?” Diesel said. “I dunno if ‘Furia’ is rated R, it might be a little more expansive in its mythology, it may call for…”
“It’ll be rated R,” Twohy stated bluntly.
Posted by Vin Diesel on Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Of course, this new Riddick installment (following on the heels of 2000’s small, R-rated Pitch Black, 2004’s epic PG-13 The Chronicles of Riddick and 2013’s moderately-budgeted R-rated Riddick) was just announced less than a month ago simultaneously with plans for a companion TV series titled “Merc City,” and now a press release has popped up for a fresh deal with Universal Television to develop said series:
Vin Diesel’s One Race Television is partnering with Universal Television on a multi-year, first-look production deal.
One Race, founded in 1995 by writer, director, producer and actor Diesel, has produced the four highest-grossing films in the seven film “Fast” franchise – Furious 7, Fast and Furious 6, Fast Five as well as Fast & Furious. The franchise has earned $3.9 billion at the worldwide box-office. He has directed Multifacial, Strays and Los Bandoleros. Previously, One Race launched multiple franchises in the action genre, including the science-fiction thriller Pitch Black and the two follow-up films, Chronicles of Riddick and Riddick, along with the hit xXx and the follow up xXx: Return of Xander Cage, in pre-production now. Diesel’s business acumen also extends to the gaming universe, where his Tigon Studios produced three critically acclaimed console titles including “Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay” and original property “The Wheelman.”
One of the first offerings going to market will be a television series complement to Diesel and writer/director David Twohy’s highly successful sci-fi franchise, “Riddick.”
“In addition to being a huge star for our feature division, Vin is a true creative force as a producer. After sitting down with him and his team at One Race Television, it’s clear he will now also be an incredible asset to both the network and our television studio” said Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “We feel really fortunate to be in business with, not only an international powerhouse, but a truly thoughtful and passionate producer.”
“I have dreamt about expanding the One Race brand into television and now we’ve found the perfect creative partners in Bob, Jen and the team at Universal Television,” Diesel said. “Shana is an incredible addition to this team.”
Diesel has hired industry veteran Shana C. Waterman as Head of Television. Waterman will oversee development and production under this multi-year, first-look deal.
“I’m incredibly excited to join the exceptionally smart, innovative team Vin’s built at One Race,” Waterman said. “Both he and fellow producer Samantha Vincent, alongside their partners at Universal, have grown a formidable global brand ready-made for this diverse and highly creative time in the world of television.”
