Vin Diesel just loves being part of big things. Even when he was already attached to be Groot in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the actor was lobbying and teasing that he might star in an “Inhumans” film. And yes, a while ago, when he was touring the set of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” he posted a video that made it seem like he would show up in that franchise as well. However, according to producer Jon Landau, that is not the case, at all.
Speaking to Empire, Jon Landau refuted the rumors that Vin Diesel would appear in one of the upcoming “Avatar” sequels. This rumor started, as mentioned, when Diesel posted a video on social media where he was on the set of “Avatar” and said, “There is one person in Hollywood I’ve always wanted to work with and learn from, and so, all things come, I guess, to those that wait.” (Let’s be real, if anyone can be blamed for starting the Diesel/“Avatar” rumors, it’s the actor himself, right?)
“He came in, visited the set one day to see what we were doing and people took that out of context,” explained Landau.
Again, that’s very generous of Landau to say that people took it out of context. If an actor posts a video from the set of a film and talks about how great it is to be working with the director of said film, then the math seems to be pretty easy. But this is Vin Diesel, who like his best friend (aka fiercest enemy) Dwayne Johnson, loves to exaggerate a bit to build up buzz for his own career.
That said, if Vin Diesel is going to be in any new franchise, “Avatar” wouldn’t be the worst one in the world. Yes, he’d have to do some mocap work, which he might not enjoy, but his voice is great and the man sure does love stories about families. And now, we all know that the future of the “Avatar” film series is all about family.
Alas, it’s not happening. Instead, we just have to wait patiently for Vin Diesel to finish out his “Fast & Furious” franchise with the upcoming two-part finale, with the first part, “Fast X,” arriving this summer.