Vin Diesel Wraps Production On xXx 3 By Sharing The Craziest Photo Imaginable

There’s a hashtag on Twitter called #MotivationMonday. Because the start of the work week is tough to stomach, people post inspiring messages, photos, videos and accomplishments, as if to say, "If this can happen to these people, then great things can happen to you. Stick with it!" Well, this new photo of Vin Diesel riding a motor bike under water is all the motivation I need on this (or any) Monday. If this picture doesn’t motivate you to get up and go, you might be dead:

A photo posted by on

Vin Diesel posted this photo to his Instagram page, and used it as a message that he was wrapping production on xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, this third chapter in the ongoing xXx series, and the second one with Diesel (after Ice Cube filled in for State of the Union). "Proud of the cast and crew for making magic," Vin Diesel writes, and the photo backs up that claim. Vin is fully clothed, and floating in a massive pool while riding a dirt bike. The bike looks like it’s going up a ramp. Vin’s not on it, so I wouldn’t be completely surprised if the film is using he pool as a way to capture zero gravity, because our boy Xander will be dirt-bike riding through outer space.

Or maybe they are saving that idea for Part 4.

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage has been filming for months. The sequel will follow Vin Diesel’s extreme-sports junkie who, according to the studio, will come out of self-imposed exile and face off against the deadly Xiang (Donnie Yen) and his team in "a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box." The high-octane blockbuster threw its casting net to the four corners of the globe. Yes, it’s bringing back Samuel L. Jackson in the role of Agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons. But xXx also will feature roles for Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose, Toni Colette, the lethal Tony Jaa, Rory McCann and Deepika Padukone.

Now that Vin is sharing photos, I wonder if a trailer is on its way. It might still be some time. xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, directed by DJ Caruso, isn’t due in theaters in January 20, 2017. But it’s the first glimpse of the franchise since State of the Union back in 2005, so fans of this particular brand of stunt-heavy insanity likely will be chomping at the bit to see how Vin Diesel plans on raising the bar. At the very least, we know that underwater dirt bikes will be involved.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.