Chronicles of Riddick 3: Dead Man Stalking

16 August 2011

John Howell

Writer and Director David Twohy is back for a third Riddick film, titled The Chronicles of Riddick 3: Dead Man Stalking (although another report I read suggested just Riddick would be the title). Vin Diesel returns as Richard B. Riddick, the physically imposing anti-hero, frequently drawn into other people's battles while attempting to save his own skin. One of the last Furyans in the universe, Riddick possesses extraordinary physical agility and strength along with surgically enhanced eyes, "eyeshine", which allow him to see in the dark. He used his “eyeshine” to good effect in the first Riddick film, Pitch Black in 2000, as a dangerous criminal who escapes a prison transport ship after it makes an emergency landing on an unfriendly world populated by winged flying monsters. Against his better judgement, Riddick helps the surviving crew members (his former jailers) to survive and escape the planet.

While Pitch Black was a good science fiction film with above average everything, Twohy and Vin Diesel’s follow up, The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004, was sensational. Riddick escapes from a prison planet and battles the Necromonger fleet hunting him down. With stunning space opera themes and a Necromonger empire featuring a leader with otherworldly powers, there was plenty of alien political intrigue, religious exploration and of course action. Reminded me in places of Dune with a touch of Star Wars (but only a touch). The costumes and minor characters were great, the settings impressive, and the science fiction story engaging. Watching the Necromonger empire’s fleet arrive to decimate and dominate entire worlds was particularly spectacular. Karl Urban, Judi Dench and Keith David were also on board to add additional acting clout. While Diesel is well cast in this type of role, his acting range is not particularly wide.

According to ScreenRant, the following is the official plot description for The Chronicles of Riddick 3: Dead Man Stalking.

"Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick (Vin Diesel) fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction."

An earlier announcement in The Hollywood Reporter revealed these script details. Riddick is “the most wanted man in the galaxy — left for dead on a barren alien planet, dealing with ‘trisons’ (three-legged bisons) and ‘mud demons.’ He must then contend with two squads of bounty hunters, one of which ride rockets called jetcycles.”

The Chronicles of Riddick 3 will be shot later this year after Diesel completes Fast and Furious 5 (I must have missed the other 4).

If we’re talking about a film as good or better than The Chronicles of Riddick, this is one to watch out for. Since they’re filming this year, I guess we’ll see The Chronicles of Riddick 3: Dead Man Stalking at the end of 2012 or early 2013.

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