Vin Diesel has been talking about Riddick 4: Furya for years. When will the sequel finally go into production? Well, it might be sooner than we think.
With three films already under his belt, two fairly popular first-person stealth video games, an animated series, a comic book series, and now a spinoff series called Merc City (which is currently in development), Riddick hasn't been critically acclaimed franchise or mass success, but it has a strong fan base that has maintained an interest in the character, which has allowed the creative team to broaden their horizons and consider creating more a fourth installment of the franchise, Riddick 4: Furya.
Pitch Black (2000) was the first film in the franchise and introduced the original character of Riddick, a dark and dangerous criminal who was transported to an off-world prison. During transport, something goes wrong and the transport plane (and all its passengers) ends up crash-landing on an alien planet full of monsters. Riddick, a fugitive, comes to the rescue, using his unique skills and abilities to survive until the day the planet's monsters go into hiding. Becoming a bit of an anti-hero, the character helps as many people as possible survive.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) further develops the character's story, eventually fulfilling a prophecy that Lord Marshal, the leader of the Necromongers, will be killed by a Furyan male. The Necromongers are a fanatical religious group who believe that life is the natural antagonist of the state of the universe, and who convert or kill anyone in their path.
Riddick (2013) sees the titular anti-hero left for dead on a sun-scorched planet, where he must once again survive the onslaught of alien predators. The only way for Riddick to escape is to activate a distress beacon, but by doing so he alerts the mercenaries to his location. More concerned about the bounty on his head than his safety, Riddick now has the chance to escape, but he must survive the attack.
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Sneak peek
The development of the project finally seems to be accelerating. Vin Diesel posted the first update on Riddick 4: Furya that we've seen in years, suggesting that the film has finally gone to storyboard, giving fans a small glimpse of a panel for a storyboard for the film, captioned:
“I finally got a chance to see some of the new Riddick material that DT sent over. Wow, exciting is an understatement. FURYA! Happy Creative Sunday! With all my love, always.”
The storyboard excerpt shows Riddick in a space suit with a shocked expression, and says “Scene 10 – The boy's eyes glow like Riddick's.”
While the title, Riddick 4: Furya, is relatively clear, it looks like we'll finally be exploring more of the character's origin story, as he's been named Furyan Fugitive, but we (and it looks like he's in the same boat as us) know very little about her home world, Furya, other than that it is a harsh world where only the strongest survive.
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Riddick 4: Development of Furya
The next installment in the Riddick franchise was first announced back in 2014, when Universal Pictures made it clear that they wanted to move forward with a 4th installment of the sci-fi franchise. In 2015, Vin Diesel announced that the film's title was Riddick 4: Furya, and that the film would be rated R. Unfortunately, the title has been stuck in pre-production since then as Vin Diesel focused on his other good character. known – Dom Toretto, and the Fast & Furious franchise.
Riddick 4: Furya is still in the very early stages of development and it may be a few more years before its release. Vin Diesel is still filming Fast Filming on Riddick 4: Furya may not begin until early to mid-2023, with a planned release in 2024.
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The returning directors and screenwriters, and Vin Diesel
Perhaps the most obvious return of the cast is that of Vin Diesel as the titular character, Riddick. The project's directors and writers have also been confirmed as those who worked on the first three films: director David Twohy, co-writer alongside Jim and Ken Wheat. The script is supposed to be finished in 2021 (even though Diesel already had a first draft in 2019). No further casting has started, and if it has started, it has not yet been made public.
Riddick 4: Furya – Everything We Want to See
This past decade has been a long, arduous journey for the Riddick franchise. The last film in the series was released in 2013, which means almost ten years have passed since the first news about a fourth installment.
As we dig through all the tidbits of information provided by Vin Diesel and the creative team behind Riddick 4, we somehow know as little today as we did in 2013. The latest teaser came from Diesel himself- same: in an Instagram post, the actor published a few storyboard pages related to the long-awaited sequel, which means that the film could have finally entered the pre-production phase.
In preparation for the (hopefully inevitable) official announcement of Riddick 4: Furya, it would be good to reflect on the series so far and everything we hope to see in the dark world of Riddick as we we're embarking on another high-intensity sci-fi blockbuster.
Return to form
It may be a controversial topic, but the Riddick franchise has struggled to find the right tone since The Chronicles of Riddick's unfortunate PG-13 rating. To this day, the second episode remains the sweetest of the series: a terrible thing, considering that it was the film that transformed Pitch Black into the saga we know today.
Vin Diesel has always had the reputation of being a die-hard fan of the films he stars in. From the Fast and Furious franchise to the xXx trilogy, the man loves his films and understands what fans want from these films.
Needless to say, Riddick 4 needs to return to the same R-rated format as Pitch Black and Riddick (2013), not only for the violence, but also for the narrative potential that an adult rating allows, especially in a dark setting like Riddick's .
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Desolate landscapes
The planet Furya may be one of the coolest settings in any sci-fi franchise. The unique mix of Giger-worthy skeletal buildings and overall eerie atmosphere make the Furyan homeworld a place we'd love to explore in more depth in Riddick 4.
Considering most rumors are calling the upcoming film Riddick 4: Furya, it's highly likely that Riddick's planet will play a central role in the upcoming installment.
Speaking of cool visuals, a new Riddick sequel is also expected to expand on the mythos of the Necromonger Empire. Not only would fans of the series' deep mythology enjoy it for theoretical reasons, but movie buffs would also be thrilled – especially because it means we could see more of Karl Urban's Vaako after his “transcendental” moment.
Stylized action
Visually speaking, the Riddick series has enormous potential when it comes to pulling off breathtaking shots. It's even better when everything comes together, thanks to those great action scenes that elevate the series beyond just a sci-fi drama.
Although it hasn't been a critics' favorite, The Chronicles of Riddick, even with PG-13 level violence, delivers some amazing action scenes that should become standard in any upcoming Riddick project.
Riddick 4: Furya could also learn a few things from the animated film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. Stylistically, Dark Fury is everything Riddick fans love about the series. A live-action film with the same stylized direction, using the same gritty and imaginative visual effects, would be a joy to watch!