While Vin Diesel and David Twohy have been banging the Riddick drum constantly in the years since The Chronicles Of Riddick, the idea of a third film had largely existed as plans and rumours, with no firm commitment from Universal. But following Diesel’s cryptic hints about scouting trips last December, the studio has now announced that it will back a new outing for the gruff anti-hero.

The reason for the apparent change of heart? There are several: firstly, Twohy’s big decision to scale back and shave down the scale of the film helped make the prospect much more attractive to executives, and the focus will be much more on Riddick himself, with a feel reminiscent of Pitch Black rather than the misguided Chronicles.

Still, that last trip to the well did bring in $116 million and launched a video game line, so there’s clearly some life in the character yet. The new movie – with Twohy naturally back on writing and directing duty – is simply called Riddick and is most likely to shoot once Diesel is finished on the fifth Fast & Furious film.

As for the plot? We’ll have to wait and see, apparently.

/Empire Online/