The sixth installment in the improbably stronger-than-ever The Fast and the Furious franchise is set to go into production this summer.  As such, the production needs a heavy for the familiar racing and heisting crew to go up against this time, someone with the charisma to equal the combined musculature of Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.  That someone is the increasingly busy Luke Evans, who is set to play the competition.

You can't keep a good Furyan down.  Nor can you keep him from going shirtless, even when his usual sartorial choice is a flattering and revealing tank top.  A new picture from the set of Riddick proves both of these points, as Vin Diesel returns to the role of the intergalactic murderer for the third time, after almost a decade away from the bald butcher's interstellar adventures.

Jason Statham has driven excessively fast in many, many films, so it was not unreasonable to expect that he might do so in the next sequel or two in The Fast and the Furious franchise.  After Fast Five proved last year that this is the rare franchise that only gets bigger on its fourth sequel, Universal was guaranteed to move forward on the not really-titled Fast Six, with a Fast Seven in the pipeline.  Statham, an action movie fixture, has reportedly turned down a role in the next sequel.

Vin Diesel seems determined to prove that not only can star in and produce Riddick, but that he can singlehandedly market the sci-fi action sequel through his Facebook account.  The actor, who channeled the phenomenal success of last year's Fast Five into a third film centered on Richard B. Riddick, has unveiled three new images from the film, currently in-production up in Montreal.  Most notably, these stills include our very first look at Katee Sackhoff in the film as one of the mercenaries chasing Riddick's intergalactic ass.

You've got to hand it Vin Diesel.  He used the clout that came with Fast Five's unexpected commercial hugeness last year to revive a character that the masses haven't exactly been clamoring to see since 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick.  And for months, he's been acting as a one-man promotional machine for the sequel tentatively-titled Riddick.  He's publicly issued consistent updates and, more notably, shared concept art during development and on-set images since principal photography began.  Today, the man who would be Riddick has released two new pictures from the Montreal set of Riddick, show showing him in the middle of a flailing stunt and another of Diesel in repose.

Vin Diesel has said that 2009's Fast & Furious kicked off the first in a second trilogy, so a sixth The Fast and the Furious film was all but guaranteed even before Fast Five became the highest-grossing film in the franchise last summer.  The new installment, which we'll just call Fast Six for now, then became two new installments, as Diesel explained that the story was too epic to fit in one movie. 

Dwayne Johnson, who joined that franchise as dogged lawman Luke Hobbs in Fast Five, has now revealed when Fast Six will get underway, where the action will take place, and whether or not Fast Six and Fast Seven will shoot simultaneously.

For weeks now, leading man Vin Diesel has been hapily offering up photographic evidence that Riddick is shooting on soundstages in Montreal.  Either that, or he's been doing some shockingly elaborate cosplay in his backyard.  Said photographic evidence, which all indicators suggest do, in fact, come from Montreal, can be seen here, here, and here (that last one is from less than 24 hours ago).  Nonetheless, Universal Pictures, One Race Films, and Radar Pictures have decided to formally announce the start of production today.

Over the last few weeks, Vin Diesel has, in his characteristically magnanimous way, been sharing images from the Montreal-based production of Riddick, the second sequel to 2000's down and dirty science fiction suspense movie Pitch Black.  Before that, the leading man was happy to show off concept art and the like, but then he dropped two photos from the set – one of Riddick in some Necromonger armor and another of him in a crouchy action pose.  Today, Diesel has unveiled another new Riddick image, and this one looks more like an actual still from the film, a close-up of the title character in his signature goggles.

More often then not, Vin Diesel plays gruff tough guys who aren't big on talking so much as they're big on driving cars excessively fast, hitting stuff, and cutting fools with aplomb.  Despite that, the man himself is quite an avid user of social media to keep his fans updated on just what he's up to.  For example, he's currently at work in Montreal reprising his role as intergalactic outlaw Richard B. Riddick in the tentatively-titled Riddick, and for months, he's kept us abreast of new developments.  Almost two weeks ago, after months of teasing with concept art and the like, he shared the first image from the set, showing himself in a rather ostentatious outfit.  Now, he's followed up that first image with another photo from the set of Riddick.

Vin Diesel is a guy who does not hesitate to harness the power of facebook to communicate with his fans and express his innermost thoughts and feelings.  That's been a boon to everyone anticipating Riddick, the tentatively titled third feature film to star Diesel as intergalactic mass murderer and goggles aficionado Richard B. Riddick.  Diesel has used the social network to let fans know that the movie will definitely be R rated, and he's even shared some concept art from the pre-production offices.  Today, he's gone whole hog and shared a photo of himself on the Montreal Riddick set, sporting some cool armor, a cape, and giant gauntlets.