Universal’s Riddick Brings Sci-Fi Survival To Screens In September

Left for dead on an alien planet, Richard B. Riddick must fend for himself against vicious predators, unrelenting weather and soul-crushing isolation. And that’s all before the bad guys show up.

Riddick, the third installment in the series that began with 2000’s Pitch Black, returns Vin Diesel to the big screen in the role that helped make him a star. Sidetracked during a search for his home world, Diesel’s gleaming-eyed antihero must survive just long enough to reach a distant emergency beacon.

However, getting off the planet isn’t as simple as pressing a button. Riddick’s distress call will announce his presence to the universe’s most bloodthirsty, lethal and violent mercenaries. Many of those bounty hunters have been waiting for years to settle a score with the ex-soldier and the one-time Lord Marshal of the Necromongers.

Director and screenwriter David Twohy scoured our own planet to cast the film’s pair of dueling "mercs." Action fans will remember Spanish actor Jordi Mollà from Bad Boys II and Blow. Meanwhile, former Australian rugby star Matt Nable plays a mercenary with a hidden agenda. Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackoff joins the saga’s cast as a mercenary sniper, while Karl Urban reprises the role of warrior Vaako from The Chronicles of Riddick. The movie’s other familiar faces include WWE veteran Dave Bautista and R&B singer Keri Lynn Hilson.

Film critics have hailed Riddick as a return to the intense sci-fi action that won Pitch Black its legion of fans. Variety’s Scott Foundas noted cheers from the audience at an early screening, while Time Out New York’s Keith Uhlich calls the film "a sci-fi aficionado’s delight." The production team includes veterans of hit films such as Mad Max, Fast & Furious 6, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Universal Pictures and One Race Films bring Riddick to theaters in the United States on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013.

Watch the full trailer and an exclusive motion comic at RiddickMovie.com.