Despite being a fan of the series, I’m not entirely looking forward to the next installment in The Chronicles of Riddick.

The series started off with Pitch Black (2000), a survival story about about space travelers marooned on a deadly desert world. The movie was okay but not great. There really wasn’t much of a plot and it was only Vin Diesel’s on-screen charisma that made it watchable.

The second installment, which few people saw (or even heard of), is a short (35 min) animation called Dark Fury (2004). It was voiced by many of the same actors from the first film, including Diesel as Riddick. It covers the time between the first and second movies, showing what happened to Riddick, Jack, and Imam after they leave the desert world. It provides some continuity and back story that the first movie lacked.

The third installment, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), was definitely a step forward. It delivered good action scenes, beautiful sets and visual effects, and a comprehensive storyline. This one got me hooked on the series. The introduction of the Underverse really opens up the plot and makes it much more appealing than Pitch Black.

Unfortunately, it appears that the upcoming movie, Riddick (2013), will revert back to the overly simplistic plot of Pitch Black. All we see in the previews is Riddick escaping(?) from mercenaries and killing large creatures. That sounds more like Pitch Black than a new chapter in the story. All action and no plot was fine for the first film, but it no longer satisfies. We need the story to move forward. There are questions to be answered.

For example, the last film ended with Riddick killing the Lord Marshall and assuming leadership of the Necromongers. How, then, does he end up captive in a merc ship on a barren desert planet…again? What did he do with his legion? Where are the Necromongers?

Those details aside, there are two questions I need answered for this story to be complete: (1) Will Riddick ever visit the Underverse? and (2) Will we ever see Furya restored and his people begin to flourish again? I know that he’s supposed to be one of the last Furyans, but no one’s sure. They have to finish out the story. You can’t build up a narrative in the second installment, then disregard it completely in the third. That isn’t storytelling.

Vin Diesel, in a recent interview, stated that he also has these same questions. That’s good to know. It’s always a plus for me when the actors generate true interest in the stories they bring to life.