Cotton Budd
Franchises put food on the table – just ask anyone credited as an ‘action star’.
With Vin Diesel staring down the barrel of a franchise about to make a permanent pitstop in a few years, the star of the long-running “Fast & Furious” franchise understandably wants to find a new series he can lock himself into.
The actor, 53, has attached himself to two projects during the week that have the potential to add roman numerals along the way.
One is ”Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em”, Universal’s film take on the Mattel game of the same name, in which – you’ll recall – players takes ownership of a giant battling robot.
Ryan Engle’s script reportedly follows a father (Diesel) and son who form an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine.
With his “Fate of the Furious” director F.Gary Gray, Diesel has signed for STX Films’ action-comedy “Muscle”. Shooting next year, it’s a project Diesel and sister Samantha Vincent will produce via their own One Race Films banner. Legend Reginald Hudlin is also among the producers on it.
John Swetnam and Malcolm Spellman wrote the latest draft of the flick – of which the logline is under wraps.
Diesel has been trying to push new instalments in the “xXx”, “Riddick”, “Bloodshot” and “Last Witch Hunter” franchises uphill for a while now, hopefully these two new ones require less elbow grease. Though, the question remains, can Diesel leave skidmarks at the box-office outside of the “Fast” franchise? Hasn’t worked so far.
