By Robert Yaniz Jr. | ScreenRant
Vin Diesel first burst onto the scene as a big-time action star in the early 2000s, with sci-fi thriller Pitch Black and the original The Fast and the Furious. While his career has hit the same highs and lows that most Hollywood stars contend with, the actor has stayed remarkably true to the two roles that made him famous.
Diesel has reprised his role as Pitch Black‘s Riddick in two sequels (as well as home video releases and video games), most recently in the aptly titled 2013 release Riddick. Of course, he’s also been instrumental in taking the Fast & Furious franchise to the next level and has returned to play his iconic role as family man/master criminal Dominic Toretto in five more films, including this year’s Furious 7, with no signs of stopping. Now it looks like he may have another franchise to add to his repertoire.
The Last Witch Hunter – which stars Diesel as Kaulder, the only remaining member of an ancient order of witch-hunting warriors – won’t open in theaters until October 2015, but according to the actor himself, a sequel is already in the works. Here’s what he had to say via Facebook:
Given Diesel’s reference to “The Axe and Cross franchise”, it’s possible Last Witch Hunter was designed to be the first step into a more expansive world. He’s already dropped that phrase before, along with the film’s first teaser trailer, and it could fit the long-term story in the same way that author George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones novels are collectively known as A Song of Ice and Fire. Coincidentally enough, Game of Thrones alum Rose Leslie is costarring in Last Witch Hunter, as a sorceress who joins forces with Kaulder in order to battle a common enemy.
The fact that Summit Entertainment (the aforementioned studio) is already asking Diesel to block off time in his schedule for a sequel could mean that it may happen sooner rather than later. While having an actor sign on for potential sequels to a forthcoming film is standard practice in Hollywood these days, this sounds like it’s a bit more definite than that. Director Breck Eisner’s last film, 2010 horror-thriller The Crazies, has been recognized as an underrated big-screen effort; perhaps The Last Witch Hunter will prove to be the breakout hit Eisner’s been waiting for?
The Last Witch Hunter opens in U.S. theaters on October 23rd, 2015.