After finishing as the runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant and making headlines around the world, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez has won the role of Vin Diesel‘s love interest in “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage,” an individual familiar with the Paramount project told TheWrap.
Paramount declined to comment. The studio is teaming on the action-packed sequel with Revolution Studios, Roth Kirschenbaum Films and Diesel’s One Race Films.
D.J. Caruso is directing the new “xXx” from a script by Chad St. John and F. Scott Frazier. Joe Roth will produce with Diesel, among others, while Revolution’s Vince Totino and Scott Hemming will serve as executive producers. Production starts soon in the Dominican Republic.
It would be a stretch to say that Gutierrez is playing Diesel’s girlfriend, but they definitely share a mutual attraction, so “love interest” is a fair descriptor, if we had to put a label on their cinematic relationship.
After sitting out 2005’s “xXx: State of the Union,” Diesel returns to the franchise to reprise his role as Xander Cage, and this time he’ll be joined by Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose, Hermione Corfield, Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, Chinese superstar Kris Wu and martial-arts sensations Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa and Conor McGregor.
“xXx” marks the first movie role for Gutierrez, whose casting was first reported by TMZ.