Vin Diesel is attached to star in and produce "Soldiers of the Sun," a sci-fi action movie written by Arash Amel that has been optioned by Universal Pictures, an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future (naturally!), story follows a group of soldiers searching for a fabled city of gold as they fight aliens in Mexico.
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Diesel and Samantha Vincent will produce through their Universal-based One Race Films banner, while Lorenzo Di Bonaventura ("Transformers") will produce through his Di Bonaventura Pictures.
Diesel is hoping "Soldiers of the Sun" will become his third Universal franchise following "Fast & Furious" and "Riddick." He's set to star in "The Last Witch Hunter" for Summit and voice the role of Groot in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy."
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Amel, whose Grace Kelly script "Grace of Monaco" was voted to the Black List, wrote "Soliders of the Sun" on spec. He also wrote the Aaron Eckhart action vehicle "Erased" and "I Am Legend 2" for Warner Bros.
CAA reps Diesel, Di Bonaventura and Amel.