Preview:
- Vin Diesel says there’s a chance of a ‘Guardians’ spin-off featuring Groot.
- He also makes mention of the campaign to film the final ‘Fast’ movie in Los Angeles.
- The actor teased other projects he’s working on.
Vin Diesel is not a man to let a chance to show you what he’s excited about go to waste, especially when it comes to work projects. Like his good friend –– or is it still frenemy? –– Dwayne Johnson, Diesel is fond of hitting social media to tease projects that may or may not end up on our screens.
He was at it again recently on Instagram, touching on the fact that the opening montage of this year’s Oscars featured footage from ‘Furious 7’ as part of its tribute to movies shot in Los Angeles.
But looking back was only part of the post, and Diesel was mostly about dropping hints about what fans can look forward to from him.
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Prime among them –– according to Diesel, at least, since there has been zero official word from either Disney or Marvel, is the chance of a movie focused on the living tree creature Groot, as featured in the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies and who has popped up alongside his teammates elsewhere in the MCU, including ‘Avengers’ films and ‘Thor: Love & Thunder.’
This is what Diesel had to say about the possibility:
“Disney wants their Planet X! Which some say is Marvel’s most anticipated movie, haha. The film where Groot returns to his home planet.”
Whether or not we actually see this happen remains to be seen; after all, Marvel is more focused on building to the new ‘Avengers’ movies and other projects.
After all, Groot got his spin-off, in the form of animated series ‘I am Groot’ on Disney+.
So let’s dig into what else Diesel has cooking, starting with the latest in the ‘Riddick’ franchise that began with ‘Pitch Black’ way back in 2000, and sees the actor as tough guy alien Richard B. Riddick.
Related Article: Vin Diesel Hints at the Idea of a 12th ‘Fast & Furious’ Movie, For a Finale Trilogy
What’s the story of ‘Riddick: Furya’?
In the new movie, Riddick finally returns to his home world, a place he barely remembers and one he fears might be left in ruins. But there, he finds other Furyans fighting for their existence against a new monster — and some of these Furyans are more like Riddick than he could have ever imagined.
Who is making ‘Riddick: Furya’?
Returning for the new movie is writer/director David Twohy, who has overseen all the entries so far. He’ll also produce the film alongside Diesel and his One Race company, while Rocket Science is representing the rights to the film internationally (and has already hatched several deals).
What else is Diesel working on?
In addition to the new ‘Riddick’ outing, there are a number of projects vying for Diesel’s attention. He’s attached to star in an adaptation of Mattel game property ‘Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots’, a cinematic take on TV detective drama ‘Kojak’ and a new entry for extreme sports-loving hero Xander Cage in another potential ‘xXx’ outing.
And not forgetting a nod towards a rumored follow-up to 2015’s ‘The Last Witch Hunter,’ which despite making only $147 million from a $90 million budget, is still a possibly exploitable chunk of IP for Lionsgate, and with Diesel’s name attached, may end up spawning a new adventure.
The references to New York and directing, meanwhile, point to him finally making the aforementioned ‘Kojak’ movie happen.
YRSYLOAnBK3LoNJ9byFTg2And what about the next ‘Fast & Furious’ outing?
Prime in both studio minds and sporting the biggest fan base, of course, is the long-running ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, which last released ‘Fast X’ in 2023, and ended with a cliff-hanger touting the return of the characters for ‘Fast X: Part 2.’
QQzr1mlNX9taNeEHrC9Cs3Yet despite apparent momentum and a director attached (Louis Leterrier is back in the driver’s seat), it has seemingly stalled since then.
The one recent development is Diesel dropping word that co-star Jordana Brewster had urged him to move filming of the apparent final ‘Fast’ movie back to where it began, in Los Angeles.
Here’s what Diesel had to say:
“Los Angeles is where ‘Fast and Furious’ started filming 25 years ago… And now Fast will finally return home.”
In his more recent post, he mentions that he’s still fighting for that to happen. Naturally, there are financial considerations, but given how much Universal has spent on the movies so far, we imagine there’s going to be some movement in the near future.
When will any of these projects hit screens?
With most of the titles still in development, your guess is as good as ours in terms of release dates.
‘Riddick: Furya’ appears to be on the right track, listed as filming on the IMDb, so that should see the light of day (or maybe a dark night would be more fitting?)
And we know that Universal wants to keep the ‘Fast & Furious’ motor running, so that should be cranking cameras this summer, whether it ends up in Los Angeles or some other locale(s).
Movies and TV Shows that Feature Groot:
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ (2014)
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘ (2017)
- ‘Avengers: Infinity War‘ (2018)
- ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ (2019)
- ‘What If…?‘ (2021 – 2024)
- ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special‘ (2022)
- ‘Thor: Love and Thunder‘ (2022)
- ‘I Am Groot‘ (2022 – 2023)
- ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ (2023)
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