Vin Diesel Bags Major Victory in 'xXx: Return of Xander Cage' Lawsuit

A lawsuit seeking money and a producer's credit on next year's 'xXx' sequel just hit a major roadblock.

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Image via Complex Original
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Recent candy assery aside, right now is a great time to be Vin Diesel. Though most Diesel news of late has centered on next year's Fast 8 and all related performance art with alleged foe Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, this week's victory comes by way of another blockbuster Diesel franchise: xXx.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Wednesday decided to reject various claims related to xXx: Return of Xander Cage, according to the Hollywood Reporter. George Zakk, a former partner who helped run Diesel's One Race Films production company until 2007, alleges that he made an oral agreement to receive "$250,00 to $275,000 fee and producer credits" for any Diesel films he helped develop.

"This case is a waste of judicial resources," Bryan Freedman, Diesel's attorney, toldTHR of Wednesday's ruling. "The plaintiff didn't do one second of work on xXx: Return of Xander Cage, and admittedly hasn't worked with Vin Diesel at all since 2007." Freedman added that he and his client considered the case an "attempted money grab" that was now on its way to being "fully extinguished" by court officials.

Before the case gets "fully extinguished," however, Zakk has 20 days to file an amended version of the complaint. Citing "insufficient facts," judge John Doyle said Zakk's original claim wasn't definitive on whether the alleged verbal agreement included work on sequels beyond his 2007 departure from One Race Films. At any rate, xXx: Return of Xander Cage is set to hit theaters Jan. 20, 2017.

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As for all that candy assery mentioned above, that's seemingly still very much in progress. The last we heard of it, via the revered journalists at Life & Style, was that the whole beef was reportedly just a publicity stunt. The best part? Sources claim the whole feud won't even reach its peak until the stars take the stage at next year's WrestleMania event.

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