- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Vin Diesel has been sitting comfortably in the studio system for years, enjoying the major success of the Fast & Furious franchise.
But for the past nine years, he’s been trying to get a third film in the Riddick series made, which took him out of his comfort zone and back into the rocky universe of independent filmmaking.
PHOTOS: Buff Bods Over 40: 7 Actors With Ripped Physiques
“I had been living in the non-independent world for so long that returning to the independent world for something this big was definitely an arduous road,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Finally, the long road has reached its conclusion — Riddick, will be released on Sept. 6 by Universal.
“There were so many setbacks,” says Diesel, who not only stars as the ex-con who can see in the dark, but produced the project along with Ted Field of Radar Pictures.
Written and directed by David Twohy, who previously helmed the first two installments, Pitch Black (2000) and The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Riddick follows the titular character as he’s left on a deserted planet where bounty hunters quickly arrive in hopes of capturing the infamous intergalactic ex-con.
STORY: Vin Diesel Risked All for ‘Riddick’: ‘If We Didn’t Finish the Film, I Would Be Homeless’
“My father saw the movie,” Diesel tells THR. “He said, ‘I don’t know whether I’m more proud of the success of the movie or of the fact that you made this movie against all odds.'”
Diesel says it was the pleas of fans that drove him to get this third film made. “So many people have seen the DVD, so many people have watched it over and over again. To come out in 2013 and satisfy those fans who have been asking for the next chapter is a really rewarding feeling,” he says.
The film also stars Battlestar Galactica actress Katee Sackhoff, who plays one of the bounty hunters. Watch the video above to find out how she felt about being the only female character in the group.
Riddick opens on Friday, Sept. 6.
E-mail: Rebecca.Ford@thr.com
Twitter: @Beccamford
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day