Riddick 4 + series MERC CITY announced by Vin Diesel

Riddick returns

Vin Diesel has announced that a new, 4th, Riddick movie is in development. The star from movies such as The Fast and the Furious and Saving Private Ryan used his usual swagger to tout that more Riddick was coming. If true, not only will a new movie feature the titular character but there will also be a spin-off series. On Instagram the actor had the following to say “Last night Our company had a party to launch Our TV division. Very exciting. MERC CITY is a show that will follow the Mercs and Bounty Hunters of the Riddick Universe. Next Month, DT begins writing the next Chapter in the Chronicles of Riddick… FURIA. #HappyFurianFriday“.

Obviously Vin Diesel calls the entire franchise The Chronicles of Riddick, after the second movie. With all the franchise tie-ins I can’t blame him. At this moment it can only be suspected that David Twohy, director off all Riddick movies, will also return. He is DT that Vin Diesel was referring to. With online content providers such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu a MERC CITY series does seem possible. It may well be a medium in which the franchise can find more solid footing. With shows such as Dark Matter, Killjoys and soon The Expanse MERC CITY will have strong competition.

The continuation of the series has been surprising. The first movie, Pitch Black, was a budget Sci-Fi movie set in a universe that was only hinted at. It received good reviews but it hardly set the box office on fire. The sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick, vastly increased the scope of the story and featured actors such Colm Feore, Karl Urban and Judi Dench. Sadly, it made only about 100 million on its budget estimated to be between 105 to 120 million. Don’t forget, a movie has to make about 3 times its budget to be profitable. Nonetheless, DVD and Blu-Ray sales went brisk over the years as did other franchise tie-ins.

Finally, after 10 years in 2013, a third movie was released, simply titled Riddick. It continued where the third left off and once again saw the title character abandoned on a dangerous and hostile planet. This time also chased by mercenaries one of which was played by BSG actress Katee Sackhoff. The third movie made around a 100 million dollars on a budget of 40 million. That combined with the good DVD and Blu-Ray sales was enough justification to make a new fourth Riddick movie. Little is known about the movie at this stage. Of course it will star Vin Diesel, but I guess Katee Sackhoff and Karl Urban will also return. The 2013 movie was in many ways an open-ended reboot.

Courtesy of http://collider.com/vin-diesel-riddick-4-tv-series/