Jet Li to face off against Vin Diesel in xXx3: The Return of Xander Cage

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Thanks to the monstrous success that the FAST & FURIOUS franchise has enjoyed, Vin Diesel has had the freedom to explore projects that may not have seen the light of day, as well as resurrecting a few that we never expected to see again. One of those franchise's that Vin Diesel has seen fit to bring back to life is XXX, the early 2000's action flick which saw Diesel portray Xander Cage, an extreme sports professional who begins working with a government agency in order to clear his criminal record. Vin Diesel didn't return for the sequel, which saw Ice Cube taking over the series, but close to fifteen years later, Diesel feels that the time is right to get the franchise back on track.

Jet Li's involvement in the upcoming sequel was rumoured earlier this year, but now that negotiations have closed, it's finally official. The sequel, which is going by XXX3: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE at the moment, will take some inspiration from the FAST & FURIOUS franchise by making the film more of an ensemble piece rather than focusing purely on Vin Diesel. According to THR's sources, Jet Li will play the leader of a team similar to Diesel's and the two will find themselves facing off against one another.

Revolution CEO Vince Totino:

xXx3: The Return of Xander Cage is one of the jewel’s in Revolution Studio’s library and we’re giving the devoted fans more of what they want by expanding the franchise and introducing new and extreme action characters like Jet Li’s.

Revolution chief operating officer Scott Hemming added:

We are extremely excited to have Jet Li join the cast of xXx3: The Return of Xander Cage as Raif who is pitted against Vin Diesel’s Xander Cage, and watch these two in action as they raise the bar with some of the most incredible stunts on film.

I'm positive that I've seen XXX at some point, but I'd be hard pressed to recall a single thing about it, however, as a big fan of Diesel, I'll be making sure to check out his latest franchise resurrection. D.J. Caruso will be directing the film from a script by F. Scott Frazier and while XXX3: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE doesn't have a release date at the moment, production is set to kick off in February in both Toronto and the Dominican Republic.