Ericson Core to Direct xXx 3
Ericson Core (”Invincible”) has signed to direct “xXx 3: The Return of Xander Cage,” the third installment in the franchise.
Core has some experience with Vin Diesel, who’s returning to the character he began in 2002, after working as the director of photography on “The Fast and the Furious” (2001). He replaces Rob Cohen after the latter abandoned the franchise he created to go and direct “Medieval” for Regency, a movie he describes as “The Magnificent Seven in the Middle Ages”.
According to THR, new film involves Cage’s return to the National Security Agency after an eight-year absence.
Vin Diesel is Back – xXx: The Return of Xander Cage
Vin Diesel holding a sawed-off Remington 870 shotgun as Xander Cage in XXX
Columbia Pictures is in negotiations with producer Joe Roth to develop a new version of xXx, and plans to bring back Vin Diesel and Rob Cohen. According to Variety, the pair have agreed to come back for the new project although no deal has been signed yet.
Vin Diesel as star and Rob Cohen as director worked together on the 2002 original but neither returned for the sequel, xXx: State Of The Union, which starred Ice Cube and was directed by Lee Tamahori.
“XXX” is a 2002 action movie that has been marketed as a modern James Bond style film. Starring Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson and Asia Argento, the flick has become a hit collecting as much as $142.1 million nationwide and $277.4 million worldwide. Following its success, a sequel is made for 2005 release. But, the reception was poor as it only managed to bring in $71 million worldwide.
The third incarnation has a title, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, but no script. No word on when production will begin.
