He may have already voiced the titular character in the classic animated flick "The Iron Giant," but with his next movie, Vin Diesel is out to prove he can be a lot more robotic than you think he can.
Diesel has signed on to produce and star in "The Machine," an action comedy in which the "Fast Five" star will play “a human-like machine created in secrecy by the Pentagon as the world's first true ultimate weapon," according to Hollywood Reporter. Basically, the funny version of "Terminator," or better yet, "Solo."
The script was written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, the duo behind "Night at the Museum," the Diesel vehicle "The Pacifier," and their own show, "Reno 911." In the script, the bald killer robot is decommissioned and 20 years go by before he's finally resuscitated by a kid with (obviously) terrible luck. The reactivation sends the government after the robot and his new human pal, and it's up to Vin to protect the family.
The project is currently looking for a director, as MGM, the studio behind the movie, is hoping to get the thing in the can before the end of the year. No wonder -- Diesel's "Fast Five" has grossed an astronomical $458 million worldwide and the star is slowly climbing back to stardom, with another "Chronicles of Riddick" installment and a sixth "Fast and the Furious" sequel set up for the future.
Diesel's hot property once again, but can he bring his "Fast Five" audience to a family comedy? He did it once with "The Pacifier" and Dwayne Johnson's had to jump back to "Fast Five" just to escape the allure of G-rated comedy success, so maybe it's not all that difficult. Not when you're Hollywood's resident badass, that is.
If all goes as planned, "The Machine" should blast its way into theaters by 2012.
