Vin diesel is one of the highest-grossing action stars, with multiple hit films. Although he’s best known for his role as Dominic “Dom” Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise, the car racing/ heist film series isn’t his only one.
In 2002, just one year after The Fast and the Furious came out, Diesel starred in xXx. The action film, which had Rob Cohen at the helm, featured just as many high-octane, adrenaline-filled moments as Fast & Furiousand kicked off a new franchise. While fans are still waiting for Fast & Furious X: Part 2they can enjoy the perfect replacement with xXxwhich is heading to Peacock on Aug. 1. Its 2005 sequel, xXx: State of the Unionwill also be available on the platform on the same day.
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10 Years Later, Vin Diesel’s Teasing a Sequel to His Forgotten Fantasy Film
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Vin Diesel is still up for making the long-awaited sequel to one of his most underrated fantasy action films.
In xXxDiesel plays Xander Cage, a thrill-seeking extreme sports enthusiast, famous for his death-defying stunts. After claiming he can succeed in any scenario, including where other spies failed, the National Security Agency recruits him to become a reluctant spy.
The action film had reunited Diesel with Cohen, who had directed the first entry in the Fast & Furious franchise, as well as Neil H. Moritz, who is a producer on the same car-themed film series. xXx also starred Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, and Samuel L. Jackson.
The movie received mixed reviews from critics, and it features a “rotten” 48% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience also gave the film a negative score of 58% on the Popcornmeter. xXx also received a Razzie Award nomination for Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie, but lost to Jackass: The Movie.
The late critic Roger Ebert gave the film an encouraging review, writing that, “In its own punk way, XXX is as good as a good Bond movie, and that’s saying something.“
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With all its poor reception, xXx was successful in theaters. Produced on a budget of around $70 million, the movie grossed $277.4 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), which means it was profitable enough to start a franchise.
In 2005, the franchise returned with xXx: State of the Union. The movie was also titled xXx2: The Next Level and XXX: State of Emergency outside North America. Diesel and Cohen had signed on to return for the sequel, but later dropped on due to scripting issues. The sequel had Lee Tamahori at the helm, and starred Ice Cube as the lead. However, Diesel reprised his role as Xander in 2017 in xXx: Return of Xander Cage.
The xXx Franchise Is Set to Continue
Similar to the Fast & Furious film series, xXx is also filled with over-the-top sequences and puts Diesel’s character in impossible scenarios. The 2017 sequel reinvigorated the franchise and had Diesel work alongside Cube. Following the success of the third entry, a fourth Xander Cage movie was in development.
However, as dedicated as Vin Diesel is to his other projects, his priority was the Fast & Furious franchise. The latest update about xXx 4 came in Dec. 2024, when franchise star Ruby Rose shared she hadn’t heard anything about the sequel. “Vin [Diesel]’s busy doing lots of Fast and The Furious 312 and I don’t know, but that would be, that was another really fun mission movieI guess might’ve been my only other real mission movie, but very different tonally than Dirty Angels.”
xXx is heading to Peacock on Aug. 1.
Source: Peacock
xxx
- Release Date
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August 9, 2002
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Director
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Rob Cohen
