This past week, it was finally confirmed thatF. Gary Graywill be directing the hotly anticipated sequelFast & Furious 8. Now,Vin Dieselhas moved onto hisnext project,XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. The actor announced today thatD.J. Carusowill be taking the helm.
Vin Dieselhas been teasing his return as Xander Cage since as far back as 2008. It will only be the second time he’s played the character ofXander Cagein a feature film, withxXxdebuting in 2002. The firstsequel,XXX: State of the Union, arrived in 2005 withIce Cubein the lead. And a short film that came with the DVD alluded to Cage being dead.That’s certainly not the case, though.
When last he spoke of XXX: The Return of Xander Cage,Vin Dieselsaid the movie was shooting this December in the Phillippines. That means it will shoot beforeFast & Furious 8. At this time, Sony has not officially announced the sequel or a release date. The director news comes fromio9, who sat down withVin Dieselthis morning. The news has not been officially acknowledged by the studio.Fast & Furious 8is being fast-tracked by Universal, which means that XXX: The Return of Xander Cage may get put on hold. We don’t know yet. This is whatVin Dieselhad to say.
“I’m excited as hell about xXx. D.J. Caruso is directing it, which is exciting. The big question now is which will race to production first now that F. Gary Gray is on [Furious 8]?”
Fast & Furious 8appears to be the priority picture, not just forVin Diesel, but everyone involved. As it is a guaranteed money maker, and will surely be another blockbuster hit. Still, there is a chance that XXX: The Return of Xander Cage will shoot beforeFast & Furious 8. It sounds like the actor himself doesn’t even know. About that, he explains.
“xXx is one of those films you do when you need to have a little fun. When the weight and pressures of all the other things have gone so far that you need to have a character that you can just have fun and more comment on life and comment on the outcome than being in it like Dom Torretto. Dom is very much the center of the storm, Xander is more the guide to something else and you’re just with him.”
At this time, no plot details have been revealed for XXX: The Return of Xander Cage. But the actor’s comments hint that it could be even more over the top and action packed than any of the previous Fast & Furious movies. If that’s even possible. Do you thinkD.J. Carusois a good choice? He is best known for his thrillersEagle EyeandDisturbia, both starringShia LaBeouf. He is next directingG.I. Joe 3.
