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Universal has dropped the second trailer for Riddick. This preview features a deeper look at the storyline of the sequel, and also presents the idea that the new Riddick adventure is much more like the first film, Pitch Black, even down to one line of dialogue being used again.

By now you know that Vin Diesel has been speaking directly to his fanbase on Facebook, giving them first look images from the filming of Riddick 3. Yesterday he wrote a post that spoke about the early feel Universal's executives have after watching the new movie:

"The studio said the earliest they could release the new Riddick is in January... was hoping for 2012... but, it's on the horizon.

/smile"

Vin sounds hopeful, doesn't he?

Principle photography has wrapped on Riddick 3 in Montreal. Director David Twohy wrote a new blog post announcing the accomplishment where he said the following words:

"So our business here is done — principle photography, anyway.  It was a challenging schedule we had for this latest installment of RIDDICK – a scant 47 days – but we managed to get what we needed (and more), thanks to a skilled crew and a gifted and willing cast.  I’m packing up now to return to L.A. after five months here, but the memories of Montreal are already piling up in my head in a way that I know will haunt me, happily, for years to come."

Twohy also posted this photo showing himself (in baseball cap) with the actors playing Santana's crew of mercs.

The first production photo showing Vin Diesel outfitted in his Riddick garb has been released to fans of the actor's Facebook page. "Grateful for the opportunity to make magic," is what he added to the image. [Full story]

Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff has been cast as the female mercenary named Dahl in the film. Meanhile, Jordi Mollà (Knight & Day, Columbiana) is in talks to play Santana, the leader of one group of mercs that arrive on the planet to hunt down Riddick.

According to gosspiy website TMZ, the Dead Man Stalking production has been allowed back inside the Montreal movie studio. Sources tell the website that the owner has been paid the money owned to him and the outstanding debt settled, so the production team is back working inside their office.

But all may not be back to smelling like roses. TMZ also adds that not all the actors have been paid their outstanding checks yet -- but that the money is coming soon.

The new date for filming to restart is December 28.

Remember when we reviewed the screenplay for Dead Man Stalking? One of the bits of info we revealed was that there was room for a small part for Karl Urban's Necromonger character Vaako, last seen kneeling before his new lord and master at the concluion of The Chronicles of Riddick.

Now Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Urban will come back to don the dark Necromonger armor again for Dead Man Stalking.

On his Facebook page, Vin Diesel has posted an update on the third Riddick movie, a.k.a. Dead Man Stalking.

"So the director of Riddick, my partner on COR since the beginning, DT... has a new challenge in store. He wants me to have 3 different body looks for this next chapter...

"There is the DiNorscio type, the Dom type, and the lean Furyan type... but all in the same movie, haha...

"When it comes to art, we all like a challenge.

"P.s. We will hit Our next Milestone... but, what day?"

Diesel has a commanding following on the social network. As of the time of this update, he has received over 37k of "likes" from his fans for the accompaning artwork that went with his update.

Read Coming Attractions' exclusive review of the screenplay for The Chronicles of Riddick 3: Dead Man Stalking and find out what's planned to happen for Vin Diesel's ex-con and vengeance-filled Furyan.

"When we see Riddick at the beginning of Dead Man Stalking he's a bloody battered mess, crawling for his life on the baked floor of an alien world," writes CA's creator Patrick Sauriol in his review. "The predators native to this planet are circling in and waiting for death to come so they can feed at Riddick's corpse -- but he won't let them. Riddick realizes here that he's got to let what happened to him in Pitch Black and Chronicles go if he's to survive the next ten seconds, let alone get off this forsaken pit of hell."

Learn what happens next (and if Patrick liked it) in his review of Riddick 3. [Full story]

That piece of artwork you see on your left is early concept art from Riddick 3. It wasn't stolen out of Patrick Tatopolous' design studio and posted on a movie news website, nor was it officially released on an official Riddick website (one doesn't exist online yet.) No, it came from Facebook -- specifically the user account of Mr. Vin Diesel himself, along with this missive:

"Early Riddick concept art... first frame of a 2D Motion Choreography Study.

"Grrrr...

"The Furian... left for dead...

"p.s. Being involved in the various preproduction engines, I am afforded an education that is priceless. I have always been a fan of internships as a way of education. When Steven Spielberg hired me for 'Ryan, the running joke was, that I would have come to set to just get him coffee... haha, he didn't have to write a role for me - it was an amazingly educational experience."

Story details surrounding the third Riddick movie have been published by The Hollywood Reporter, with the info coming out from a presentation to Russian distribution companies held last Saturday. Vin Diesel was at this presentation personally to discuss what takes place in the movie.

According to the trade, the storyline for Riddick finds the character now billed as the galaxy's most wanted man. Left stranded on a barren planet, Riddick has to deal with the world's native lifeforms such as "trisons" (three-legged bison aliens) and "mud demons." Riddick is also being chased by two different groups of bounty hunters, one of which comes after him using flying cycles for transport.

The Russian businessmen liked what they heard. Instead of selling the distribution rights for the picture for around $2.2 million, a bidding war emerged. The company that won was Central Partnership for Russia with a winning bid of $2.5 million.

After several years in development hell, the third movie starring Vin Diesel as futuristic anti-hero Richard P. Riddick is moving forward.

Universal Pictures will distribute the new movie, presently known under the title Riddick, domestically while Lionsgate is shopping the rights for international territories. Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick director/writer David Twohy is returning and star Vin Diesel will also produce the new movie.

While they don't have any hard details on what the new Riddick movie's storyline will be about, Variety states that the scale will be smaller in scope like Pitch Black rather than Chronicles.

A production schedule is still being developed but Riddick won't shoot until after Diesel finishes Fast Five, the fifth movie in the Fast and the Furious series.