“Money comes second to art” Vin Diesel says of his career priorities, but his long standing desire to return for a third Riddick movie could be undone by cash issues, as the actor would be forced to take a pay cut for the project to progress as he would like.
Writing on his Facebook page, the Fast Five stars says: “[David Twohy] has just landed in New York with the good news, we can start filming this summer. However there is a catch… in order for us to make a true R-rated film I must work for scale upfront. Money is always second to art, integrity and spirit, but the real issue is deeper. Can I suspend my life to momentarily venture to that dark place called Riddick?”
With the film set to go, salary issues aside, it seems like the long-gestating project might finally come to fruition, the suggested R-rating too. Diesel though, who earned a reported $15 million for the recent fifth instalment in the Fast and Furious franchise, would be working for a drastically reduced fee and would need the film to become profitable, and most likely then some, before he would see any real money.
Diesel first played the character of Riddick in 2000’s low-budget sleeper hit Pitch Black before reprising the role four years later for The Chronicles of Riddick. The sequel though, despite its increased budget ($105M compared to Black’s $23M) performed poorly at the box office, making only half of its money back domestically.
