9:00am ET, 29-July-02

 Diesel Teases Riddick Trilogy

    Vin Diesel told SCI FI Wire that he is confirmed for a trilogy of sequels to Pitch Black, the sleeper 2000 SF hit in which Diesel played a convict. The first of the three follow-up movies is titled The Chronicles of Riddick. "If you're familiar with the [J.R.R.] Tolkien novels, in the same way that Hobbit is prequel to The Lord of the Rings, Pitch Black is a prequel to The Chronicles of Riddick [trilogy]," Diesel said in an interview. None of the three Chronicles will be prequels to Pitch Black, as has been rumored, Diesel added.
    The three films will deal with "the universe that Riddick is involved with," Diesel said. "It's got this extensive story that [director] David Twohy's putting together. He calls it the evil Star Wars." Diesel wouldn't reveal any more specific details, but did say why he chose to stick with the Riddick franchise, while turning down further Fast and the Furious movies.
    "I always loved the Riddick character, and I thought that the Riddick character spoke to our generation," Diesel said. "It was one of the first times that I saw an audience root for the convict, and I thought that was interesting, the concept of the audience rooting for a guy who's been prejudged, ruled out and given up on and misrepresented. The idea of us judging this guy, Riddick, by his actions, as opposed to his past, is interesting to me."


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9:00am ET, 30-September-03

 Urban: Riddick Is Dark



    Karl Urban, who plays the sinister Vaako in the upcoming Chronicles of Riddick movie, told Empire magazine that the follow-up to Pitch Black takes SF to a dark place, according to a report on the Dark Horizons Web site. "It's about time we reclaimed science fiction and made it dark," said New Zealand-born Urban, who is best known as Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movies. "It's gotten a little candy on us lately, but we are going to flip that."
    As Vaako, Urban is the nemesis to Vin Diesel's Riddick in Chronicles, which is envisioned as the first in an epic SF trilogy of films. "[I'm] a deadly enforcer of a dark place," he said. "Vin is prey for my part. I mean, in this film you're either the hunter or the hunted." The Chronicles of Riddick is currently in production, with an eye to a June 2004 release.


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9:00am ET, 15-October-02

 Twohy Pitched 3 Riddicks

    Director David Twohy, who is in preproduction on a proposed film trilogy spun off his sleeper hit SF movie Pitch Black, told SCI FI Wire that the first sequel in the Chronicles of Riddick series will greatly expand the universe seen in the original film. "It takes that Riddick character [played in Pitch Black by Vin Diesel] and follows him through multiple universes, multiple worlds, as he meets multiple adversaries," he said in an interview while promoting his latest film, Below. "There's a lot of theology running through it. Not just mythology, like maybe you get out of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but theology as well. Even though I'm not a religious guy, I'm very interested in religion anyway and why people turn to it."
    Twohy said that the title of the first sequel film will be the same as the title of the new series as a whole, to establish continuity, yet create an identity apart from the original. "Right now we're saying the series is called Chronicles of Riddick. We're referring to it as C1, C2 and C3. I'm plotting all three films as we preproduce this first film. And we're in active preproduction. I've got a production designer on it. I've got a whole art department of conceptual artists. The script is in. We are being funded by Universal. It's a big deal."
    Twohy added, "The reason why it's The Chronicles and not Pitch Black 2 is because that would be a disservice to what we're doing now. Or would give a false impression of this next film. Because not only are we changing genres-the first one was a horror film and this will be action/adventure/sci-fi-but we're also increasing the scope in such a way that isn't true to the original film as well


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12:00pm ET, 3-April-03

 Urban Rides To Riddick



    Karl Urban (Eomer in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) has joined Vin Diesel in the upcoming SF film The Chronicles of Riddick, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible 2) is in talks to join the cast for writer-director David Twohy, the trade paper added.
    Radar Pictures and One Race Productions are producing the film for Universal Pictures. Production begins June 9 in Vancouver, B.C., with Judi Dench and Colm Feore also starring, the trade paper reported.
Riddick continues the adventures of Diesel's character, who was first introduced in Twohy's 2000 film Pitch Black. The second installment finds Riddick, now a hunted man, in the middle of two opposing forces in a major crusade, the trade paper reported.
    Feore plays Lord Marshal, a warrior priest who is the leader of a sect that is waging the 10th and perhaps final crusade 500 years in the future. Dench portrays Aereon, an ambassador from the Elemental race, an ethereal being who helps Riddick unearth his origins. Urban will play Vaako, a military commander under Lord Marshal. Newton would play Dame Vaako, the trade paper reported.
Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.


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12:00pm ET, 2-July-03

 Riddick Starts Up

    Principal photography commenced July 1 on The Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel to David Twohy's SF sleeper hit film Pitch Black, Universal Pictures announced. Universal is producing the film in association with Radar Pictures and One Race Productions.
    Vin Diesel reprises the title role, antihero and convicted killer Richard B. Riddick. He is joined by Colm Feore, Alexa Davalos, Karl Urban, Linus Roache, Thandie Newton and Dame Judi Dench.
The sequel takes place five years after the events in 2000's Pitch Black. Riddick winds up on the planet Helion, home to a progressive multicultural society, which has been invaded by the Lord Marshal (Feore), a zealot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of Necromongers. In prison, Riddick encounters an old friend, Kyra (Davalos), and together they try to free themselves and take on the Lord Marshal in a battle that could determine the fate of humanity.
    Twohy wrote and will direct the film, which is produced by Scott Kroopf and Diesel. Ted Field, George Zakk and David Womark executive produce. Universal is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.


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9:00am ET, 12-June-01

 Diesel Co-Scripting Pitch 2

    Pitch Black star Vin Diesel told SCI FI Wire that he's co-writing the upcoming sequel with director David Twohy and that the new film will focus on his convict character. "We should have a script in the next few weeks or month," Diesel said in an interview. "It will be called The Chronicles of Riddick."
    Diesel confirmed that the sequel would not deal with the same aliens as the original film. "It will not be another Pitch Black situation," Diesel said. "We're going to follow Riddick through this universe, more like a futuristic Conan, coupled with a Harrison-Ford attitude and Star Wars. It's going to be dope."
    Diesel's character, Riddick, is an ex-convict in the future, with an eye condition that makes him vulnerable to light but able to see in the dark. In Pitch Black, Riddick used his ability to fend off a species of nocturnal aliens when his prison transport shuttle crash-landed.


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9:00am ET, 26-September-01

 Diesel Signs For Riddick

    Vin Diesel has signed an $11 million contract to reprise his Pitch Black role in the sequel The Chronicles of Riddick, Variety reported. X-Men writer David Hayter wrote the script for Riddick, which Universal will distribute in summer 2003, the trade paper reported.
    Scott Kroopf, Ted Field and Tom Engelman of Radar Pictures will produce, and Diesel and his One Race Productions partner George Zakk are likely to have producing jobs as well, the trade paper reported. No director has been hired yet; the movie is slated to begin shooting in spring 2002. David Twohy co-wrote and directed the original Pitch Black.
In taking the Riddick role, Diesel passes up the chance to play the title role in Daredevil, the Mark Steven Johnson-directed adaptation of the Marvel Comics serial about a blind lawyer who becomes a superhero, Variety reported


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9:00am ET, 6-June-02

 Twohy To Helm Riddick

    Pitch Black writer-director David Twohy will direct The Chronicles of Riddick, the proposed sequel to the SF sleeper, and has committed to two more for Universal and Radar Pictures, Variety columnist Michael Fleming reported. Twohy had previously said he would not direct because of his commitment to direct Below and an adaptation of the Harlan Ellison SF story "Demon With a Glass Hand," but changed his mind. Pitch Black star Vin Diesel will reprise the role of Riddick.
    Sequel drafts were turned in by David Hayter and Akiva Goldsman, but the studio has decided to go with Twohy's original pitch, Fleming reported. "Vin has become a bigger star, and he and I became interested in multiple pictures," Twohy told Fleming. He has been mapping out multiple sequels with Diesel. "Vin wanted a franchise, and when Fast and the Furious didn't happen for him, we pitched this to the studio, and they went for the idea of not just one, but up to three follow-ups. We'll give Riddick multiple adversaries on different levels. We think of Pitch Black like Mad Max was to Road Warrior or The Hobbit was to Lord of the Rings. They were places to find one of your characters, enabling you to take them to different places in subsequent films."


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9:00am ET, 14-February-03

 Riddick Adding Dench, Feore

    Judi Dench is in final talks to star opposite Vin Diesel in Universal Pictures' Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel to David Twohy's SF hit film Pitch Black, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Colm Feore, meanwhile, has come aboard to play the lead villain in the film. Twohy will write and direct for Radar Pictures and One Race Productions. Production begins in Vancouver in April, the trade paper reported.
In the sequel, Riddick (Diesel) is now a hunted man and finds himself in the middle of two opposing forces in a major crusade, the trade paper reported. Feore will play Lord Marshal, a warrior priest who is the leader of a sect that is waging the 10th and perhaps final crusade 500 years in the future. Dench will play Aereon, an ambassador from the Elemental race. She is an ethereal being who helps Riddick unearth his origins, the trade paper reported.
    Universal Pictures is owned by Vivendi Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.


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