The brilliant writer and director David Twohy is best known for teaming up with the awesome Vin Diesel to create the cult anti-hero, Riddick, in 2000’s Pitch Black and the 2004 follow-up, The Chronicles of Riddick.
A third film, tentatively titled simply Riddick, has been in the pipeline for some time now, and we’ve recently been getting some nice concept art for the film with hopes that production will soon be starting.
Collider are now reporting that Twohy, whose last film was the lesser-known little gem A Perfect Getaway, is on the cusp of getting his next screenplay, The Leonardo Job, financed, and taking the director’s job for himself too.
“An action thriller about the heist of the “lost” Leonardo da Vinci painting “The Battle of Anghiari”; the story involves two rival master thieves hired to go to Florence to track down the “mythical” painting. These experts use high tech and old tricks to prove the painting exists and pinpoint its location – hidden behind another masterpiece. They are forced to combine skills when their schemes to steal the painting get more complicated and dangerous after they discover they are not the only ones pursuing the hidden treasure.”
It certainly sounds pretty different from what we’ve seen from Twohy so far. But A Perfect Getaway was also a big change in direction from his previous film, The Chronicles of Riddick, and I thought he did a fantastic job directing both, so clearly he’s a director capable of working in different genres. And I’m really looking forward to seeing him take on the heist genre, because everybody loves a good heist film.
I’m interested to see how well-known a cast Twohy will get for this film. Milla Jovovich and Timothy Olyphant both did a fantastic turn for the director in A Perfect Getaway, and for me the pair would quite possibly be the perfect casting in the lead roles for The Leonardo Job. But there’s probably a good chance that will just remain a dream (along with the chance that the two leads will be male), but I can always hope. The third Riddick dream has felt like an impossibility for years, but it seems to be finally coming together, so I can dream.
It’s not yet known whether The Leonardo Job moving ahead will cause any delays to Riddick’s production, but let’s all keep our fingers crossed that Twohy can get the latter shot and in the can before getting to work on the former. Because as much as I love a good heist film, I cannot wait to see Vin Diesel back in action in Riddick. More news on both projects as and when we get it.
