Paramount Pictures D.J. Caruso is returning to direct the butt-kicking hell out of a fourth installment to the xXx franchise according to multiple trade sources running online. The news comes in addition with the word that The H Collective and Vin Diesel’s One Race Films have acquired the rights to the franchise with Diesel expected to star once more as well as produce. Diesel launched the xXx franchise next to the growth of Universal Pictures’s The Fast And The Furious whose director, Rob Cohen, helmed the inaugural 2002 film from Columbia Pictures. Ice Cube would replace the actor for its 2005 sequel from Lee Tamahori twelve years before Diesel would return to the role last year headlining with a sprawling cast of heavy hitters that additionally featured Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Ruby Rose and Michael Bisping to name a few, as well as a cameo by Cube himself for a Paramount release. “During my time at Paramount I was lucky to be involved in the development and distribution of xXx: Return of Xander Cage.” says H Collective CEO Nic Crawley in a statement. “The response from the Chinese box office was unprecedented. Bringing the next installment of the xXx franchise to The H Collective complements our diversified slate and mission to produce content for a global audience.” The deal also allows Revolution Studios to retain its rights to the first three films. The H Collective is partnering with Jackie Chan’s Sparkle Roll Media, HCH Media, Dadi Cinema, and Angeleno Studio to finance the fourth installment which is expected to go before cameras in December. Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum are also producing along with One Race’s Samantha Vincent, and The H Collective. Diesel is currently preparing for the summer start of production for Valiant Comics adaptation, Bloodshot while Caruso’s own recent headline activity saw him circle projects including G.I. Joe 3 and Jason Statham thriller, Killer’s Game. THRILLED to finally reveal that we've acquired the rights to the xXx franchise! Prepare for @VinDiesel to blast back onto your screens as Xander Cage!!!A post shared by The H Collective (@thcfilm) on Apr 17, 2018 at 5:33pm PDT