xXx The Return of Xander Cage (Photo : Movieclips Trailer/YouTube)
Movie producers are aware that for their films to earn beyond the budget spent, they must show their movies to an international audience. The people behind “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” are aware of the box-office reality which explains why the lead stars are an international cast.
Vin Diesel, one of the lead actors, pointed out that a lot of spy movies until now such as “Jason Bourne,” “James Bond” and “Mission: Impossible” still feature Caucasian heroes battling foreign enemies. He believes the success of “The Fast and Furious” franchise was it cast across continents.
Different Approach to Spy Movies
The same approach was used in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” which stars Vin Diesel, Deepika Padukone of Bollywood, Chinese actors Kris Wu Yifan and Donnie Yen, and Thai actor Tony Jaa. In the movie, Tony Jaa, who starred in Thailand’s “Ong Bak” films and was in “The Fast & Furious 7,” plays the character Talon.
Tony Jaa shared that he had numerous influences in his youth such as Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone and Tom Hanks. Being in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” is an opportunity for him to represent the Thai culture.
Donnie Yen is Chirrut Imwe, the blind monk in the hit “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” However, in his case, international casting did not work only in China despite his presence in the movie since the standalone “Star Wars” movie did not attract Chinese moviegoers but earned well in other markets.
Cast with No Boundaries
“The idea was to create a cast that knew no boundaries and didn’t allow the restraints of Hollywood to hold us back from casting in a truly international way,” Vin Diesel said. “We scoured the Earth for the cast that lives in this movie. It’s a global cast for a global audience,” he added, China Entertainment News quoted.
The plot of “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” revolves around two rival groups in pursuit of the Pandora’s Box. The movie opens in China on Jan. 19. The movie trailer, which got 100 million views in two days in November, has Huahua Media and Shanghai Film Group as marketing partners in China of Paramount and Revolution Studios, producers of the movie. The two Chinese companies made an undisclosed investment in the movie, Deadline Hollywood revealed.
