‘xXx: The Return of Xander Cage’: Vin Diesel says doing the film is 'therapeutic and necessary'

Vin Diesel has recently talked about his new film, “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.” He described working on the movie as “therapeutic and necessary.”

Diesel plays as Dominic Toretto in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. But according to NZCity News, he felt a need to take a break from the intense filming of the series following the shocking death of his friend and co-star, Paul Walker.

Walker passed away in 2013 after a car accident. By then, filming for “Furious 7” was still ongoing. Several of his key scenes had not yet been filmed so recasting and reshoots were done.

Fans can recall that the actor has been found dead along with his friend, Roger Rodas, in a burnt-out Porsche Carrera GT in Los Angeles. According to a coroner's report, Walker died of the combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries.

Diesel shared in an interview with Legend Magazine that he was close to not being able to find a window to do Triple X. “But there was a greater need for me to do it because I had come off the very intense experience of shooting 'Furious 7' and all that entailed, including the loss of a brother,” he said.

“Because that was so intense, I had to choose Triple X. I had to shoot that, literally, so I could smile and laugh again because the character I'd been playing was so brooding and had forced me to go to such a dark place, doing it without someone that I loved,” Diesel further told Legend.

Other “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” cast also include Samuel Jackson, Ruby Rose ("Orange is the New Black"), Donnie Yen ("Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"), Rory McCann, Toni Collette ("Krampus"), Tony Jaa ("Furious 7"), Nina Dobrev ("The Vampire Diaries"), Deepika Padukone, Danny Wu, and 2015 Miss Universe contestant Ariadna Gutierrez.

“xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” is under the direction of DJ Caruso. It is produced by Diesel himself, along with Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum and Samantha Vincent. It is slated to hit Australian theatres on Jan. 19. Paramount Pictures and Revolution Studios will release the film in the US on Jan. 20.