In the past few weeks, Vin Diesel has treated us to the great first and second images of himself on the set of the upcoming third instalment in the Riddick series, Riddick. Continuing his kind stance of sharing the project with us every step of the way (all of which you can catch up on here), he’s treated us to the third image from the set, and it’s a great one.

Giving us a close-up of his face, we can see him wearing his trademark goggles from the first two films, Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, lying close to the ground, and looking pretty roughed up.

Writer-director David Twohy is returning behind the camera for the third film, which has been in development for many years. Collider also have the official updated synopsis for the film, which you can read in full beneath the great new image. It comes with the full press release, with the synopsis emboldened for your reading pleasure.

Whether or not it’s been altered much of course remains to be seen. Along with Diesel, we can expect a return from Karl Urban reprising his role as Vaako, with Katee Sackhoff, Jordi Mollà, and Nolan Funk expected to be joining the cast too.

Sharing the image through his Facebook, Diesel had this to say:

“First time I posted about Riddick was back in 2009, Facebook was fresh…
They were asking me to come to the headquarters to talk about this new concept of communicating with fans. I was proud to lead that wave, yet all I was doing, was opening up about my passion – film.

So this picture of Our 2012 production of Riddick, is a cool victory for all of us… it shows that studios can be influenced by your voice.

P.s. Proud of Our Riddick team.”

I don’t think I could be more excited about this if I tried. Diesel’s done such a good job with the Riddick character to date, and I can’t wait to see him return to it. What we’ve seen so far has looked brilliant, and this bloodied close-up (which you can click to enlarge) only cements that awesomeness. As always, more as we get it.

Universal Pictures, One Race Films and Radar Pictures announced today that principal photography has begun on the action-driven, sci-fi thriller Riddick. The shoot will take place in Montreal.

The latest chapter of the groundbreaking saga that began with 2000?s hit sci-fi film Pitch Black and 2004?s The Chronicles of Riddick reunites writer/director David Twohy (A Perfect Getaway, The Fugitive) and star Vin Diesel (the Fast and Furious franchise, xXx). Diesel reprises his role as the antihero Riddick, a dangerous, escaped convict wanted by every bounty hunter in the known galaxy.

The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he’s encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty.

The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won’t leave the planet without Riddick’s head as their trophy.

Riddick also sees the return of Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy) as Vaako and introduces to the series Jordi Molla (Bad Boys II, Colombiana) as Santana, the arrogant captain of the mercenary ship; Matt Nable (Killer Elite) as Boss Johns, a man looking for answers; Katee Sackhoff (TV’s Battlestar Galactica) as the Nordic mercenary Dahl; and Bokeem Woodbine (upcoming Total Recall) as bounty hunter Moss. Rounding out the cast are Dave Bautista (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption), Conrad Pla (Immortals), Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto), Nolan Funk (TV’s Aliens in America) and two-time Grammy Award-nominated singer Keri Hilson.

The film is produced by Vin Diesel (upcoming Fast & Furious 6, Fast Five) and executive produced by Samantha Vincent (Fast Five, Fast & Furious) for One Race Films. Ted Field (The Last Samurai, Pitch Black) produces for Radar Pictures, while Mike Drake (Dream House, A Nightmare on Elm Street) also executive produces.

Twohy is joined on the film by a talented behind-the-scenes team, including director of photography David Eggby (Pitch Black, Mad Max), production designer Joseph Nemec III (A Perfect Getaway, The Hills Have Eyes, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and editor Tracy Hall (Limitless, A Perfect Getaway, The Flock).

The Riddick franchise has also produced two popular video games: The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. As well, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the anime DVD The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

Riddick, which is shooting in Montreal, Canada, is a One Race Films production. The film will be released by Universal Pictures in the U.S., and Lionsgate is handling international sales.