XXX sequel pulls in martial arts legends!

Vin Diesel has primarily been occupied of late on the “Fast and Furious” series, which has gradually turned into arguably the world’s biggest action movie franchise, but he’s currently gearing up to return to another of his early hits in the forthcoming “XXX: The Return of Xander Cage”, which is set to get rolling later this month. However, he won’t re-enter the Xander Zone alone, and in fact, martial arts fans will surely want to dive in themselves with the news that action stars Jet Li and Tony Jaa, as well as current UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor are set to appear in the film as well!

The “XXX” franchise began in 2002 under the direction of Rob Cohen, auteur of “The Fast and the Furious” and “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story”, with Diesel in the role of extreme athlete turned super spy Xander Cage. The film was a big financial success and led to a sequel, “XXX: State of the Union”  in 2005, though Diesel did not appear, with rapper Ice Cube assuming the lead.

The upcoming third will reunite Diesel with Tony Jaa after appearing together in last year’s “Furious 7“, and will also mark the film debut of Conor McGregor after his rise to the top of the MMA world. Additionally, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is also set to appear in the film in her Hollywood debut along with Diesel’s co-star from the original film, Samuel L. Jackson who returns to his role of the franchise’s Nick Fury, NSA Agent, Augustus Gibbons.

The film will also arguably signify as much of a return for Jet Li as Xander Cage after a noticeable dearth of action roles on his part in recent years save for his participation in “The Expendables” franchise. In the past few years, Li has devoted more attention towards his philanthropic efforts with his non-profit organization, The One Foundation, and his online health and lifestyle academy, Taiji Zen. Li’s semi-retirement has also been partially attributed to his being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2010, but hopefully, the news of his involvement Xander Cage’s return, as well as his appearance in “Feng Shen Bang” later this year is indicator of his health returning to normal.

Stay tuned for more news on “XXX: The Return of Xander Cage” and its motley crew of martial arts legends as it arrives!