Well it’s official, xXx 4 is a go. Not only that, but Vin Diesel himself now owns the franchise rights to xXx, as it was announced last night that Diesel acquired the rights from Revolution Studios alongside The H Collective, which is financing the follow-up and is also backing an untitled new horror film produced by James Gunn. Diesel will be reprising his role as Xander Cage in xXx 4 and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage director D.J. Caruso will also helming the next installment, with filming slated to begin this coming December.
The xXx franchise began in 2002 as part of a boom in Hollywood for extreme sports-oriented films, based largely on the popularity of the X-Games at the time. The first movie did alright, grossing $277 million at the worldwide box office, but Diesel did not return for the sequel xXx: State of the Union, which saw Ice Cube filling the lead role. That follow-up grossed only $71 million and the franchise was put on ice until last year, when for some reason somebody decided this was a franchise worth resurrecting. Diesel returned alongside an international ensemble, and lo and behold xXx: The Return of Xander Cage ended up grossing $346 million worldwide, making it the most successful installment thus far.
However, The Return of Xander Cage was not a success domestically—it only managed a paltry $44.8 million in North America. But it was very much a huge success overseas, pulling in $164 million from China alone. That’s why we’re getting a xXx 4, and given the disappointing box office here at home, you can probably bet all aspects of this new sequel will be geared towards an international audience.
This comes as Diesel has very publicly been in a feud with his Fast & Furious co-star Dwayne Johnson. Despite the massive success of Fate of the Furious, Universal has opted to move forward with the Johnson/Jason Statham spinoff movie before Fast & Furious 9, so Diesel has some time on his hands.
No release date for xXx 4 has been given, but you can bet Vin Diesel will be surfing/motorcycling/hang gliding into a theater near you within the next couple of years.
