The Riddick Panel took place in Hall H of Comic-Con on Friday, July 19 around 12:45pm. Riddick, for those unaware, is the sequel to Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick, all starring Vin Diesel as the main character, aptly named Riddick. It is a sci-fi genre film, following the life of Riddick, a deadly criminal, through various extraterrestrial worlds. I (Josh) am not too familiar with the franchise, seeing both Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick a long time ago, but I will provide some information and news revealed in Hall H! Chronologically during Comic-Con, this panel was right after the Kick Ass 2 panel, as it was the second half of a one hour Universal Pictures showcase.
If you haven’t read the Kick Ass 2 panel review, you can view it here.
Riddick’s cast join the panel
McWeeny, the moderator, continues from Kick-Ass 2 straight into the introduction of Riddick’s director, David Twohy. McWeeny hails Riddick , as “an original franchise”, which he describes as increasingly difficult to find today. David Twohy has directed the previous two Riddick films, which he is currently best known for. Then Riddick‘s director comes out, discussing the success of his film Pitch Black being revealed at Comic-Con numerous years ago. David Twohy moves on to talk about Dahl, played by Katee Sackoff, who is hunting down Riddick. Twohy then introduces some footage from Riddick showing off Sackoff’s character.
David Twohy then introduces Katee Sackoff, and she is dressed for the occasion. More footage is revealed, showing off some of Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, as we already know. Vin Diesel comes out, which draws roars from the crowd.
McWeeny goes on to discuss the sequel, and what the story of the third Riddick film would be. David Twohy reveals how “daunting and liberating” this film was since it would not be made through a big movie studio. Twohy discusses his conversations with Vin Diesel, as they came up with the story for Riddick, and Twohy reveals that they went with a “survival story”, indicating that, “they wouldn’t have all the money in the world for this one, so a survival story was the way to go”. Twohy then discusses the selling of the script overseas, and bringing Universal on board with the movie for American distribution.
The moderator brings up the Fast and the Furious franchise, referring to Vin Diesel’s character, Dom, and how family oriented he is. McWeeny then asks Vin Diesel, “What is it that drives Riddick?”
Vin doesn’t seem to have an immediate answer, but starts by saying that Riddick is driven, “by some sort of quest for identity”. Moving on to Sackhoff, McWeeny asks her how important the role is when she is picking another sci-fi movie. Sackhoff reveals that she loved her character Dahl, and really wanted to be in this movie, as Dahl doesn’t show vulnerability, and loved the script.
Riddick plays D&D?!
Then, news to me was revealed by the moderator about Vin Diesel–he played Dungeons and Dragons?! McWeeny asks if this helps him with his characters and acting, and Vin Diesel responds, saying “Very much so” and that it is, “a training ground for imagination”. Vin Diesel gets into discussing Dungeons and Dragons further, and how those roles were acted out.
Returning to the movie, Vin Diesel discusses how he with Twohy enjoyed bringing more “mythology” to Riddick. He says that the tempo and mood of the film will follow Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick, but expand the mythology further.
Comic-Con Riddick footage
We are shown more footage of the film next, which shows Riddick being captured by some mean guys, including Katee Sackhoff’s character, Dahl. Unfortunately for the gang holding Riddick, they are being surrounded by some alien species outside their building. Riddick seems to be enjoying himself though. If you want to see the footage, it has been posted on YouTube, and embedded it here:
Riddick Audience Questions
The moderator opens the panel to questions. An audience member asks how fight scenes are for Vin Diesel, and if they come “natural” or “come easy”. Vin Diesel responds that nothing comes easy, and talks about Dom from Fast and the Furious, and the values Dom has versus Riddick’s “darkness”. He brings up how he thinks about what Riddick does, and says, “now that I have kids, and watch the Riddick character, there is a part of me, Drew, that feels guilty, for having such a darkness in that character, and I look at what he’s doing and I go, ‘That wasn’t cool, you shouldn’t have killed that guy!'”. He continues discussing the emotion behind his fights, and says they are the “taxing” part of the fights.
The second audience question asks, “How can I be more bad-ass?”. Vin Diesel says that he is already on his journey of “bad-assery”.
The third question is directed to Katee Sackhoff, asking about what her character will bring to Riddick. She discusses her development of the character in terms of back-story, as a character, “trying to prove something”. She continues discussing her thoughts on the character, and the “light and darkness” to her character.
The moderator asks the panel about a part of the movie, which seems to reveal that there might be plans for a fourth movie, as Vin Diesel doesn’t want to answer the question, saying that that is “in the next movie”.
Vin Diesel to be in a Marvel movie?!
McWeeny is about to close out the panel, but Vin Diesel insists on one more audience question, which he immediately regrets upon hearing the question. The question is in regards to Vin Diesel’s recent meeting with Marvel, as the audience member specifically asks Vin what his “vision” is for the future of Marvel films, hinting at Vin playing the Marvel character Vision. Vin Diesel’s answer is pretty hilarious though: “Why’d I have to go and say, ‘Ask your question?!’ One last one! And he asks the one question I am not supposed to answer!” Vin Diesel says he unfortunately he can’t answer that question, but we should have an answer with “some very big news” towards the end of the month. Poor Vin Diesel! He tries to be a nice guy, but gets railroaded with a question he can’t answer! Vin Diesel thanks the crowd again, and the panel ends.
This was a pretty good panel, considering I am not a big follower of Riddick. I enjoy both Vin Diesel and Katee Sackhoff, and I was shocked to hear that Vin Diesel is a bit of a nerd, playing D&D. He would be the last person in Hollywood I would have thought of playing that! It looks like I should catch up on the Riddick movies though, as this movie looked entertaining at the very least.
The next chronological panel in the Comic-Con Wrap Up is The Walking Dead! Click here to move on to that panel!
