Between xXx and its first sequel, Vin Diesel temporarily left the franchise, and producers opted to kill the character off in a short film. Diesel has certainly had an eventful career overall, becoming primarily known as an action star, but teasing in a few performances outside the genre that he's got some dramatic chops as well. Diesel has played a leading or large role in multiple different franchises so far, most notably Dom Toretto in the Fast and the Furious series, along with the title role in the Riddick movies, and Groot in the MCU.
While xXx definitely isn't Diesel's most successful or acclaimed franchise, it still has its moments sure to please action fans and/or fans of the actor himself. xXx reunited Diesel with The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen, and in it he played Xander Cage, an extreme sports athlete and all-around adrenaline junkie that ends up reluctantly becoming a secret agent for the FBI in a bid to stop a terrorist plot.
Reviews for xXx weren't great, but it was a box office success, and seemed clearly designed to set up a franchise starring Diesel. That is until he was shown the script, hated it, and passed on returning. Rapper/actor Ice Cube was brought in to take over as a new character, but an attempt was made to bridge the two films via a short film titled The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage.
The Final Chapter: The Death of Xander Cage was included as an extra on the special edition re-release of xXx on DVD, which hit shelves shortly before xXx: State of the Union starring Ice Cube hit theaters. It attempts to tie up loose ends, but it doesn't do that great a job. For one, Vin Diesel obviously doesn't appear, and Cage is played by his stunt double Khristian Lupo. Lupo's face is never shown, and he doesn't speak onscreen. Leila Arcieri does reprise her role as Jordan King, and State of the Union sub-villain Alabama Cobb (John Gleeson Connolly) also appears to try and bridge the two films.
Cobb's men plant a bomb in Cage's apartment building, and after he's momentarily distracted, the bad guys abduct Jordan and make it look like she went into the building. Cage follows, and is then blown up, with Cobb finding a piece of burnt skin containing Cage's xXx neck tattoo. Unfortunately for those involved, xXx: State of the Union was a massive flop, and the series was put on ice until 2017, when Diesel returned for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. While it's treated as if Cage faked his death sometime after the first film, State of the Union is glossed over, and the events of The Death of Xander Cage are entirely ignored. Considering that the short seems to almost be a "take that" directed at Diesel, it would appear that his return to the franchise rendered it non-canon. Not that fans mind.
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