Remember how cool Vin Diesel was in his breakthrough role as intergalactic outlaw Riddick in Pitch Black and its sequel? It was considerably less cool seeing him contend with loaded diapers and cantankerous water fowl in The Pacifier, so it’s refreshing to hear he’s getting back into murder mode.
Diesel will star in an adaptation of the videogame Hitman as the title’s proficient international contract killer, a smooth-headed enigma known only as Codename 47 who pieces together his own mysterious genetic origins while using firepower, ingenuity and hi-tech equipment to eliminate a succession of targets.
The Fox film, based on the popular Eidos game franchise (an “assassin simulator” that has provided handy lessons for my daily life), will be produced by Chuck Gordon, Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter. Considering the subject matter I’m hoping they aim for an old-fashioned brutal R-rated film, since a more commercially palatable PG-13 movie about a ruthless killer could seem a little toothless (although I suppose it hasn’t really been a problem for Jason Bourne).
I know that the project has been trying to secure the services of Diesel for a while (physically he’s a pretty perfect match for the character), and ultimately his involvement doesn’t come as a surprise – Vin’s also a hardcore gamer whose own Tigon Studios was responsible for the outstanding Chronicles of Riddick prequel game Escape from