Before he was known as Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious series, Vin Diesel's rise to action star began with the character of Richard B. Riddick. He began as the dark anti-hero in one of the most underrated sci-fi films of the 2000s: Pitch Black. Since then, he's become this iconic anti-hero whose adventures continued in The Chronicles Of Riddick, and Riddick.
Along with the video games, the Riddick universe has become a cult-classic franchise. With years of waiting between sequels and long yet troubled productions of each, there is a lot to learn about the series behind the camera.
Sequels Were Not Planned At First
Though it is now known as an expanded universe, according to Movieweb.com, the Riddick series was not the original plan. David Twohy created Pitch Black as a standalone action-horror film and was his passion project. But after it was both a theatrical and home video success, it sparked the director to return.
This led to the universe, which consists of three theatrical films, novelizations, an anime film, and two video games. Escape From Butcher Bay is often considered one of the best games based on a movie.
Fast & Furious Saved The Franchise
A common misconception is that Vin Diesel's commitments with the Fast & Furious franchise are why Riddick films take so long to get made. The truth is that Vin Diesel returned to the series to save Riddick from becoming extinct.
Vin Diesel's cameo in Tokyo Drift was to help keep the Fast & Furious movies from going straight-to-video, but instead of money, Insider.com reported that Diesel was given the rights to the Riddick series. This allowed Vin Diesel and David Twohy to keep their passion project under their control and produce the films without interference.
Filming Pitch Black Was Cold
The first film, Pitch Black, takes place on a remote desert planet with sunlight for months at a time. The film does a great job of making the planet seem scorching hot, but that was not the case while filming. The same movieweb.com article mentions that the cast and crew filmed Pitch Black in the middle of Australian winter.
So a lot of editing was done to make everything look hot and the actors were sprayed with water to give the illusion that they were sweating.
Vin Diesel Produced The Third Movie
Vin Diesel owning the Riddick movies' rights has seemingly been a blessing and a curse. Funding Riddick, the third chapter, proved to be a struggle without a major studio. So returning to the indie roots of Pitch Black, Riddick was produced on a rather small budget, hence why some of the CGI was less than stellar.
Vin Diesel himself ended up funding the film, and according to Hollywood Reporter, it nearly cost him everything: he mortgaged his house, took out loans, and if Riddick did not get made, Vin Diesel would have been homeless. Fortunately, Vin proved to be an admirable producer, according to his co-stars in Riddick.
Superior Unrated Cuts
All three of the Riddick films feature extended cuts. Pitch Black wasn't anything too drastic but the sequels are where things get interesting. Both The Chronicles Of Riddick and Riddick feature a lot of extra footage that gives proper context to scenes, better pace, and even changes to the tone.
Some feel that the theatrics of The Chronicles Of Riddick is very watered down and feel more PG-13, whereas the director's cut adds more violence, new badass quotes for Riddick, and darker elements to make it feel closer in tone to Pitch Black and Riddick. The Riddick director's cut features more scenes to help it connect more to The Chronicles Of Riddick.
Mad Max Filming Location
To portray an alien desert in Pitch Black, the movie was filmed in the Australian outback in the same locations as the Mad Max series.
To get the right look for Pitch Black, director David Twohy worked with the same cinematographer as the Mad Max movie: David Eggby. David Eggby would reunite with Twohy and Vin Diesel for filming Riddick.
Dungeons & Dragons Off-Camera
Vin Diesel is an avid fan and player of Dungeons & Dragons and other table-top RPGs. He's a proud nerd and that never ceased while filming the Riddick movies. According to CheatSheet, during the long breaks between filming on The Chronicles Of Riddick, Vin Diesel played D&D.
Joining him were his fellow co-stars Karl Urban, Thandie Newton, and even Dame Judi Dench, of all people. One can only imagine how much fun it was for the actors and those watching during these sessions.
A Planned Spin-Off Series
A big part of the Riddick universe is the mercs: specially trained bounty hunters that range from good to evil to a bit of both. Each of the Riddick movies featured mercs that are usually after Riddick himself. Entertainment Weekly announced, years ago, that a TV spin-off series titled Merc City would focus on a group of mercs in the Riddick universe.
One of the more memorable mercs was Toombs from The Chronicles Of Riddick. He even returned in the anime film The Chronicles Of Riddick: Dark Fury, so fans wondered if Toombs would return in Merc City. Sadly, the show still hasn't been made, and there has yet to be any word if it has been permanently canceled or not.
The Fourth Film Is In The Works
Fans of the franchise should be happy that Riddick's story is still not over. Vin Diesel and David Twohy are still aiming to make the fourth movie simply titled Furya. This hints that this will be the film where Riddick finds his people's homeworld.
The third film, Riddick, ended with the titular anti-hero learning that Vaako, played by Karl Urban, had entered the Underverse, much like the Lord Marshall did in the second movie. So Furya seems to be the culmination of all three films and will likely be an epic finale for the series.
Began As An Alien Sequel
Yes, the Riddick movies got their start because David Twohy was one of many filmmakers that proposed scripts for Alien 3. According to ComingSoon, he proposed the idea for an intergalactic prison, which he ended up using in The Chronicles Of Riddick. However, due to creative differences, Twohy left the project to rework his ideas into what would become Pitch Black.
There was even a Riddick equivalent in Twohy's Alien 3, a convict that was written as a woman. There are other parallels to Twohy in the actual film that fans have pointed out, such as the planet being called Fiorina "Fury" 161, which is eerily similar to Furya from the Riddick universe. There is even a bald-headed character with goggles, similar to Riddick's signature look.