Vin Diesel is more than just The Fast and the Furious, although he'll always be recognized as the face of that blockbuster franchise. He's got another action projects he's become known for, such as the Pitch Black/Riddick series, which have held up pretty well, and of course there was XXX awhile back. Diesel has been setting in motion a pair of films that have the potential to expand into new franchises: The Last Witch Hunter and his remake of classic detective series, Kojak, and both are seeing new movement at around the same time.
The Last Witch Hunter doesn't hit theaters for a few months but Diesel says Lionsgate is anxious to get moving on a sequel. He posted this on his popular Facebook page....
“So the studio apparently is so excited by the Last Witch Hunter – The Axe and Cross franchise… that they are already commencing on the next one. The first one doesn’t hit theaters until October 23rd, yet they want me to commit and already block out time to film it.”
The film is directed by Breck Eisner with Rose Leslie, Michael Caine, and Elijah Wood co-starring in the story of a witch hunter who teams up with a witch to stop a plague unleashed on New York City by an evil coven.
Meanwhile, Diesel has been developing a remake of the '70s detective series, Kojak, the one made famous by star Telly Savalas. It's been awhile since there have been any updates on it, but now comes word that Philip Gawthorne, who is developing a Cube remake, has signed on to give Kojak a new screenplay. Skyfall writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade wrote the most recent draft which apparently wasn't up to Diesel's liking. A couple of years ago a rumor surfaced that Ang Lee might direct but that doesn't seem to be the case, or at least it hasn't been mentioned since. Then again, since Diesel has a role in Lee's anti-war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk maybe we haven't heard the last of it. [Variety]
