Riddick Coming To HD Digital Download This December, Blu-Ray To Follow In January

By David Wharton | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

RidFeatIt’s still kind of amazing that we got a third Riddick film. David Twohy and Vin Diesel had big plans for the character, big plans they tried to set up in 2004’s Chronicles of Riddick. Unfortunately that movie underperformed and it looked like that might be the last we saw of Vin Diesel’s murderous bald antihero. But through sheer force of will — not to mention a few traded favors and the mortgaging of Diesel’s house — they made it happen and a third Riddick film opened in theaters this past September, to mixed reviews and box office. Now fans will be able to bring Riddick home in a way that won’t involve him shanking you and slinking off into the darkness.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced a January 14, 2014 release date for Riddick on Blu-Ray, DVD, and their Ultraviolet digital service. The home-video versions of Riddick will sport a new unrated director’s cut of the film, along with a previously unseen alternate ending. Riddick will also include the usual array of bonus features, with the Blu-ray containing exclusive ones that aren’t on the DVD. Here’s the full breakdown:

Bonus Features Exclusively on Blu-ray

  • The Twohy Touch—In this short film, writer and director David Twohy explains the development of Riddick, the third feature film in his high-concept sci-fi series. Interviews and on-set footage detail Twohy’s vision and inspiration, as well as the creative collaboration between the filmmaker and star Vin Diesel that takes the cult franchise to a new level.
  • Riddickian Tech—The filmmakers, including Riddick’s amazing effects team, talk about the extraordinary technologies used to create Riddick’s eye-popping sci-fi elements, from the practical effects to the green screen wonders that made it possible to bring this high-intensity, futuristic thriller to the big screen.
  • The World of Riddick—Key members of the filmmaking team, including director David Twohy, production designer Joseph C. Nemec III and director of photography David Eggby talk about the inspiration and influences behind the film’s vivid and unique visuals and savage predators.

Bonus Features on Blu-ray and DVD

  • Vin’s Riddick—Vin Diesel, his co-stars and the entire filmmaking team provide an inside look at the superstar’s passion for everything from the film’s production and development to his intensive physical training, as well as just what makes Diesel ideal for the role of the indestructible Richard B. Riddick.
  • Meet the Mercs—From Karl Urban and Katee Sackhoff to Jordi Mollà, Dave Bautista, Bokeem Woodbine, and Nolan Gerard Funk, this featurette spotlights the dynamic supporting cast of Riddick and the characters they portray, exploring what the actors bring to their roles, as well as the weapons and clothing styles that define them to enhance this heart-stopping thriller.
  • Riddick: Blindsided—A motion comic prequel to Riddick that fills in the gap since 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick.

If you don’t want to wait until 2014, Riddick will be available in digital HD from the usual services a full month earlier, on December 14. That’s great for those who, like me, didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters. Of course, that won’t get you all the behind-the-scenes goodies, but then again who has time to watch them these days?

For you completists out there who don’t already own the earlier films, there will be a box set that will include all three feature films as well as the Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury animated movie. If they’d throw in the excellent Escape from Butcher Bay/Assault on Dark Athena video games they’d have a perfect Riddick collection.

With an estimated budget of around $38 million, Riddick pulled in $86.7 million worldwide. That’s probably not enough to merit another sequel, but you never know. Especially if the movie does well in home release, we might just get more of everybody’s favorite stabby, nightvision future psychopath. If you want more Riddick, vote with your wallet!

Global action-superstar Vin Diesel reprises his breakthrough role in Riddick, the much-anticipated new chapter in the epic adventures of the most wanted man in the universe. The all-new thriller finds the title character trapped on a sun-scorched planet and pursued by ruthless bounty hunters eager to collect the reward for Riddick’s capture—dead or alive. Savage alien creatures, expansive desert landscapes, monster storms, jet hogs and an arsenal of futuristic weaponry make this the most exhilarating episode to date in writer and director David Twohy’s breathtaking series of futuristic blockbusters.