"xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" has officially re-casted the film's main villain.
An earlier report stated that Jet Li bagged the role, however, the action star has dropped the film for undisclosed reasons, Twitch Film reported. Due to his departure, "Once Upon a Time in China" and "Ip Man" star Donnie Yen has been confirmed to be replacing Li. The news was confirmed on Diesel's official Facebook account where the star has been known to share news about his projects, Slash Film reported.
The confirmation of Yen being brought onto the film came in a form of a picture. The picture was captioned saying it was the film's director Rob Cohen, Diesel as Xander, and Yen as a character named Xiang. So what does this mean for "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage?" Well, the addition of Yen gives the movie even more star power than it already has, as Yen is known to be one of the top action film stars in Asia. The 52-year-old actor is also set to star in the "Star Wars" spin-off movie "Rouge One: A Star Wars Story," which is set to be released later this year
As for the rest of the cast of "xXx: The Return of Xande Cage," Samuel L. Jackson has confirmed that he will be reprising his role as Agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons. Jackson has so far been part of the entire "xXx" franchise and his character serves as a handler of sorts for the team.
Also confirmed for the film is Tony Jaa of "Ong Bak" fame, Nina Dobrev from the "Vampire Dairies" and Ruby Rose from "Orange is the New Black."
As for the story of the film, not much is known at this point; however, there are several speculations on what it could be, with one rumor stating that Diesel's character is forced to recruit a team to counter a global treat.
Check out a video of several leaked photos from the set of "xXx: The return of Xander Cage:"