Vin Diesel has forged a career as one of Hollywood’s most successful action stars, and Diesel has been a key part of four major franchises. These include superhero movies, sci-fi thrillers, and high-octane action films. What is impressive is that all four franchises have seen a respectable level of success critically and commercially.
Getting his start as a DIY filmmaker, Diesel also developed a strong work ethic, and he set out to create his own franchises, which began with The Chronicles of Riddick and then expanded to The Fast and the Furious. He then followed this up with his franchise before finally signing on for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a recurring role.
However, not all Vin Diesel franchise attempts have been successful. He attempted to create a new franchise with The Last Witch Hunter, which was based on Diesel’s love for Dungeons & Dragons. He also had another superhero attempt with Bloodshot, but that ended with just one movie. Even his failures prove the impressive results of his successful franchises.
The Chronicles Of Riddick
Vin Diesel As Richard B. Riddick
The Chronicles of Riddick
Out of all the Vin Diesel franchises, the one that goes back the furthest is The Chronicles of Riddick. The first movie in the series was a straight sci-fi horror film called Pitch Black. Vin Diesel is Riddick, a dangerous prisoner being transported to a prison planet who had a “surgical shine job” that allows him to see in pitch-black darkness.
This comes in handy when the prison spacecraft crash-lands on a planet inhabited by alien insect creatures that attack at night, when the entire area becomes pitch black. It seemed like a great horror one-shot, was a small box office success, and earned mostly positive reviews.
However, director David Twohy and star Vin Diesel had big plans for Richard Riddick. Instead of a one-shot horror movie, they created a massive mythology for the character, and that led to the 2004 sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick. However, there was a problem since the dense mythology became confusing for Pitch Black fans, and it was a box office flop.
The good news is that Twohy and Diesel didn’t give up; they created a third movie in 2013 that returned to what fans loved so much about Pitch Black. Riddick focused on another situation where he was trapped on a dangerous planet with bounty hunters hired to kill him and monsters that come out in the dark to kill.
This third Riddick movie featured bigger names, including Karl Urban, Dave Bautista, and Katee Sackhoff in the cast, and it achieved similar box office and critical success to the first film. It also ensured a fourth movie, which is in production, called Riddick: Furya. In all, the first three movies grossed $255 million at the box office (via The Numbers).
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Vin Diesel As Groot
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Marvel Cinematic Universe remains one of the biggest and most successful in Hollywood history. Vin Diesel was a small part of that as part of the fan-favorite Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. While fans never saw Diesel in the MCU, his voice was heard plenty as he voiced the character of Groot in the Guardians movies.
Diesel made his debut in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, which was the 10th MCU movie overall. It seemed to be a risky bet for Marvel, as it was the least-known property to date for the studio, but it proved to be a massive success. It grossed $773.4 million at the box office and helped establish the Guardians as some of Marvel’s most popular characters.
Diesel went on to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+. He also voiced the character in the I Am Groot animated series on Disney+, which was a series of shorts about the character that aired from 2022 to 2023.
It didn’t stop there either, as Vin Diesel was part of the two biggest movies in MCU history, when he brought Groot into Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The first film grossed $2.94 billion at the box office, and the second made $2.7 billion. Finally, Groot appeared in Thor: Love and Thunder, and there are rumors Groot isn’t finished in the MCU yet.
Fast & Furious
Vin Diesel As Dominic Toretto
Fast & Furious
The most successful Vin Diesel franchise, in terms of the actor in the central starring role, is The Fast & Furious series, and it isn’t even close. Diesel stars in the franchise as Dominic Toretto, and he has appeared in a lead role in all but two of the films, although he makes a cameo appearance at the very end of one of those movies. Diesel has led this franchise to immense success.
Diesel’s first appearance was in The Fast and the Furious in 2001, which told a story similar to the classic action film Point Break. Diesel is Dom Toretto, a street racer who also runs a gang that pulls off daring heists. Paul Walker stars as Brian O’Conner, a young LAPD officer sent in to infiltrate the gang and arrest Dom. However, that isn’t what happened.
Instead, Brian lets Dom go, and both men end up wanted by the police. This said, that isn’t what the franchise led to. The second film had Brian on the run, teaming up with other street racers as he tried to evade arrest. The third film then told a story that didn’t involve either Brian or Dom, and the franchise seemed to be winding down.
However, like the Xander Cage franchise, Fast & Furious resurrected itself by bringing back Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, and the rest is history. The fourth movie saw the two men back in action, and it remained a heist franchise, but everything changed in Fast Five, and the series morphed into something bigger and better.