Vin Diesel has already left his mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe by voicing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s had his eye on playing another character for a while now. Recently Diesel brought up his interest in playing Blackagar Boltagon, a.k.a, Black Bolt, the ruler of the Inhumans in the 2019 Inhumans movie. However, despite his enthusiasm for the character, the actor won’t just take the role if offered. He has certain stipulations.
Talking to MTV, Diesel laid out the conditions that it will take to get him to play Black Bolt, and frankly, they’re not unreasonable. Essentially he wants the story and creative team to be the best it can be. As he put it:
It’s not a matter of me wooing Marvel, it’s a matter of Marvel wooing me. And I love them, but I’m just saying, show me a dope script and show me a great director, all of which I know that Kevin [Feige] is capable of, because he dazzled me when he suggested Groot. That was, like, profound to me.
It’s no surprise that Diesel is playing hard to get with Inhumans. He’s at the point in his career where he can afford to be picky with the projects he takes, especially after appearing in Furious 7, one of 2015’s highest grossing movies. However, he sounds confident that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the other creative minds will be able to dazzle him with what Inhumans has to offer.
It’s been noted before, but Groot and Black Bolt would be a fitting combination for Diesel. As Groot, audiences hear his gruff voice say, in various tones, "I am Groot," but all they’ll see is a giant CGI tree. In Black Bolt’s case, after being exposed to the Terrigen Mist (the substance that awakens an Inhuman’s ability), he gained hypersonic vocal chords that are capable of destroying everything in his path with just a single word, effectively rendering him mute. So, aside from possibly one utterance, he would be silent for the whole movie.
Although Inhumans is still four years away, its status experienced a brief shakeup after a rumor hit that Marvel had taken it off their release schedule, though that was quickly debunked. Joe Robert Cole was originally set to write the screenplay, but as of last October, he was no longer involved with the project, and he's is now in final negotiations to pen the Black Panther screenplay. As Phase Three has yet to kick off, Diesel may have to wait a while to learn who will comprise the Inhumans creative team and decide whether he’ll take the role. And Marvel will have to offer it to him first.
Inhumans will hit theaters on July 12, 2019, but in the meantime, check out ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST to see the superpowered people explored on the small screen.
