While making the press rounds for his new film Alex Cross, director Rob Cohen offered brief updates on two of the franchises he helped start, xXx and The Fast and Furious.
Though he hasn’t been too busy over the past few years, Cohen is back with the aforementioned Alex Cross and while speaking to us at the film’s recent press day, he gave a brief update on the much anticipated third xXx film and also spoke on returning to The Fast and Furious series one day.
Check out what he had to say below.
We Got This Covered: On IMDB, it implied you were working on another xXx movie, is that still happening?
Rob Cohen: It’s sort of dormant, I’m waiting for Vin [Diesel] to get his head out of Fast and Furious sequels.
We Got This Covered: What are your thoughts on the Fast and Furious series and would you direct another one?
Rob Cohen: I’d be happy to do it. I mean, it is my baby. No matter what way they twist it, I am still the guy who did the first one and made it what it was. I think that for a series to last ten or twelve years, you have to keep growing. I don’t know that I would have gone to the heist world, but the fact that it did $550 million, twelve years after the first, is a compliment to what we started out to do.
The first couple sequels though, what I hated about them was that it was just for money, the studio was just milking the cash cow. It’s a miracle they didn’t kill it. If you were to just watch Tokyo Drift, you’d say “I never want to see anything related to Fast and Furious again.”
It’s not much to go on but the news that the third xXx film is still dormant is definitely disappointing. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage has been rumoured for years now and it seems as if not much progress has been made. Granted, Vin Diesel has been pretty busy lately but still, seeing him return to the role of Xander Cage would be very welcome.
As for The Fast and the Furious, I can’t see Universal handing the series back to Cohen at this point, especially with the success they’ve had with Justin Lin behind the camera. That being said, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Cohen back at the helm. As he says, it’s his baby and I think he’d treat the film with the same love and care that he put into the first one.
What are your thoughts? Still waiting for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage or have you given up hope? Would you like to see Rob Cohen take back the reigns from Justin Lin on The Fast and Furious series?
Let us know in the comments below.