Prime Video Just Added This Legendary Sci-Fi Trilogy

Vin Diesel is one of Hollywood’s most legendary tough guys. He has anchored The Fast and the Furious film franchise decades now, and can find every variation on a single line as Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. He was one of the most bankable action stars of the 2000s, notching starring roles in big-budget projects like 2002’s XXX, and trying his hand at an Arnold Schwarzenegger-style pivot into family fare with 2005’s The Pacifier. But in between these blockbuster franchises and stand-alone projects, Diesel kept coming back to one particular character.

That character is Richard B. Riddick, who made his first appearance 25 years ago in 2000’s Pitch Black. Since then, Diesel has played the character in two other films, an animated short called Dark Fury, and two video game tie-ins. It’s a role that’s been near to Diesel’s heart since nearly the beginning of his career, and it’s become one of his signature characters, right up there with Dominic Toretto. On February 1, Prime Video added all three of the main Riddick films, so curious viewers can see one of Diesel’s favorite roles for themselves.

Riddick’s Film Appearances

Riddick first came to screens in 2000’s Pitch Black, a sci-fi/horror/action hybrid directed by David Twohy. The character is introduced as an extremely dangerous criminal, who’s been apprehended by a bounty hunter named Cole Hauser (William J. Johns) and is being transported on a passenger spaceship along with an array of fellow travelers. The ship takes damage and crashes on a desert planet, killing most of the passengers. The survivors have to work together to avoid being picked off by a group of toothy creatures that start preying on them. Luckily, Riddick is very well-adapted to survival, and he agrees to help the survivors in order to gain his freedom.

Pitch Black was the film that proved Diesel was a bankable action star, basically doubling its modest budget. The film is a product of its time, with a very frenetic early-2000s editing style. But its unique look and extremely cool central character make it a standout sci-fi film from the era.

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Four years later, Twohy and Diesel returned to the character in 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick, which took the series in a different direction. With a budget about four times that of its predecessor, Chronicles embraces the kind of grand scale space opera storytelling that the original rejected. The story draws as much from fantasy as it does from sci-fi, making it akin to the epic scope of Dune. Chronicles gives Riddick a backstory, revealing that he is the last survivor of a race called the Furyans, an ancient race of warriors who were thought to be extinct.

Unfortunately, it was both a critical and box office disappointment. Many critics preferred the more grounded, gritty feel of Pitch Black and found Chronicles derivative of other sci-fi epics. Much like the first film, it’s gained some appreciation over the years, but is considered the worst of the three. Still, it’s worth watching for fans of the character. It features plenty of cool ideas and an appealing visual style, even if its various elements don’t all come together.

Riddick wouldn’t return to the big screen for nearly a decade after Chronicles’ disappointment, but its failure prompted Twohy and Diesel to take the character back to basics for its third installment. The result was 2013’s Riddick, which returned the character to its more scrappy roots. The film picks up a few years after the events of Chronicles, but jettisons the lore-heavy elements in favor of a straightforward sci-fi survival story.

In the film, Riddick is betrayed and left for dead on a hostile planet and must use his many skills to survive. In an echo of Pitch Black, Riddick has to reluctantly team up with a group of mercenaries hunting him in order to avoid death by the hordes of grotesque creatures called Mud Demons. Riddick feels more like a true sequel to Pitch Black, once again pitting the character against hostile forces and forcing him to rely on his wits to make it out alive.

Why Riddick Works

The Riddick series may not be high art, but it has plenty of charm for fans of action-oriented sci-fi. A big part of what makes it work (especially in its first and third installments) is its simplicity. The films’ world of space-mercenaries and killers is easy to grasp for viewers who prefer their sci-fi a little less complex. It’s all anchored by Diesel, who plays Riddick with the right mix of action star toughness and sly humor. Riddick is always the most capable guy in the room, and a big part of the pleasure of these movies comes from watching him take care of business. It ranks among Diesel’s best work, and feels like a character that nobody else could play quite like him.

Riddick has been with Diesel since his earliest days, as he evolved from an up-and-coming Hollywood star to an icon of over-the-top action, to his current place as a figurehead of the genre. A fourth movie, currently titled Riddick: Furya has been in development for nearly a decade now. It was officially announced back in 2023, with production starting last year. While little is known about it so far, hopefully, fans of this singular series won’t have to wait too long for a return trip to its uniquely gritty world.

Pitch Black

Release Date

February 18, 2000

Runtime

109 minutes

Director

David Twohy

Writers

David Twohy, Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat

Sequel(s)

Riddick, The Chronicles of Riddick