It's been 14 years since Xander Cage was last seen on the big screen, but Vin Diesel's government operative character is finally returning ing a big way for xXx: Return of Xander Cage, the third movie in this series. His next adventure is still another six months from hitting theaters, but we finally have its first trailer, and if there's one that's clear, it's that he hasn't missed a beat when it comes to kicking ass.
The xXx: Return of Xander Cage trailer (a Facebook exclusive) kicks off with Samuel L. Jackson's character, NSA agent Augustus Eugene Gibbons, talking about he's heard the world is supposedly the safest it's ever been, but that's simply not true. The dangers facing the world nowadays are just different, and to tackle them requires a different kind of soldier. Some of these operatives are already out in the field, but only Xander Cage has has the main skills they need, like skiing down a dirt-covered mountain and through a jungle, riding motorcycles across shallow water and BMX skateboarding. From there, we see Vin Diesel's character beating the crap out of nameless goons and following Gibbons' words wisdom: "Kick some ass, and look dope while you're doing it." That's advice that all action heroes should follow.
The first xXx movie came out in 2002, and followed Xander Cage, an extreme sports athlete who was recruited by the NSA to perform a mission that no one officially affiliated with the U.S. government would have been able to effectively accomplish. xXx: State of the Union followed in 2005, but rather than bring Vin Diesel back, the sequel starred Ice Cube as Darius Stone, and Xander was said to have been assassinated. 11 years later, we now know that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated, and despite more than a decade passing, he's ready to take on the bad guys. xXx: Return of Xander Cage kicks off a big blockbuster year for Diesel, with Fast 8 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 following in April and May, respectively.
After spending years in a self-imposed exile, xXx: Return of Xander Cage will follow the eponymous character returning to the spy world to save the world when a new criminal named Xiang (played by Donnie Yeng) and his forces attempt to destroy Earth with a weapon known as the Pandora's Box. Aside from the previously mentioned actors, the cast also includes Deepika Padukone as Serena Unger, Tony Jaa as Talon, Nina Dobrev as Rebecca Clearidge and more.
xXx: Return of Xander Cage hits theaters on January 20, 2017.
