The Chronicles of Riddick (franchise)

""In normal times, evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, it must be fought by a different kind of evil.""

- Aereon, The Chronicles of Riddick

Riddick or The Chronicles of Riddick (sometimes described as "Conan In Space") is a series of Low Science Fantasy Movies and Video Games set in the 27th century. Its titular character, Richard B. Riddick, is notable for being a badass antihero, for being one of the last descendants of the Furyan race, and for being portrayed by Vin Diesel.

In 2000, Pitch Black was a surprise hit and quickly gained a cult following. The studio execs believed that Riddick's adventures had the making of a Cash Cow Franchise, and so began the expansion of the Riddick universe. In 2004, Pitch Black was given a prequel story in the form of the game The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and an animated film, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, detailing the events shortly after Pitch Black's conclusion. Both of these were tie-ins to the big-budget sequel The Chronicles of Riddick, with Dark Fury bridging the gap between the films.

Whilst the game and animation were well-received, opinion is very divided over the sequel, to put it kindly. Both critically and among the fandom, it received a lot of criticism and even outright disownment. Though it does have its fans, the addition of fantasy elements probably didn't help things.

The Films:

 * Pitch Black (2000)
 * The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
 * Riddick (upcoming 2013)

The Games:

 * Escape From Butcher Bay (2004)
 * Assault On Dark Athena (2009)

The Animated Film:

 * Dark Fury (2004)

This franchise contains examples of:

 * Alliterative Name: Richard B. Riddick. In a perfect world, the middle name would be "Broderick"...
 * All There in the Manual
 * Anti-Hero (Type V)/Anti-Villain (Type I): Riddick is one of the few characters you could make an strong argument for both. He is very much a criminal but his general attitude is "I don't care if you're good or you're bad, just don't get in my way." In general though, being a protagonist makes him more often an Anti-Hero. In Pitch Black he is treated as essentially the villain.
 * Appropriated Title: The first release in canon was called Pitch Black; the Riddick-based titles didn't start until the second film. This goes along with the complete change in tone and focus the series underwent after the first installment.
 * Crapsack World : The ENTIRE FUTURE UNIVERSE throughout the Riddick series.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Imam is a title, not a name. It would be like addressing a priest only as "father," and never using his name.
 * Expansion Pack World
 * Friend to All Children: Riddick seems to have a soft spot for children. In the DVD extras, this is mentioned as the only reason Johns ever caught him in the first place. He seemingly was willing to leave Jack to die in Pitch Black, though, so this only goes so far.
 * Genre Shift: Pitch Black was horror that happened to have a sci-fi setting. The Chronicles Of Riddick is High Fantasy that happened to have a sci-fi setting.
 * The Milky Way Is the Only Way: The films don't mention galaxies but the novelizations contradict each other. The novelization to Pitch Black by Frank Lauria implies that humans have colonized several galaxies, saying that Riddick worked in the Sigma Galaxy and that Johns chased him across 3 galaxies, but the novelization to The Chronicles of Riddick by Alan Dean Foster implies that everything takes place within one galaxy.
 * Numbered Homeworld: There's Helion Prime and then up to Helion Five. The planet in Pitch Black is called M6-117.
 * Only in It For the Money: The usual motivation of the mercenaries hunting for Riddick, who are all after the substantial reward offered for his capture. Examples include Johns, and Toombs and his mercenary crews.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy: It is hinted that the Furyans have elements of this.
 * Stealth Hi Bye: Riddick seems to just appear out of shadows and fade away into them when necessary. It helps that he can see in the dark.
 * Super Weight:
 * Type -1: Lynn Silverman
 * Type 0: Johns, Fry, Jack, Imam, Toombs, Kyra , Dame Vaako, Chillingsworth, Hoxie, Jagger Valance, Dacher, Ellen Silverman
 * Type 1: Vaako, Revas, Spinner, Abbott, Junner, Necromonger soldiers
 * Type 2: Riddick,, Bioraptors, the Quasi-Dead, Lensers, Hellhounds, Pitt Dwellers, Ghost Drones
 * Type 3: The Lord Marshall, Aeron, people in Mech units, Butcher Bay's robotic guards, Alpha Drones
 * Type 5: The Necromonger fleet
 * Used Future: Everything is in dire need of a new paint job in the future.
 * Weapon Twirling: Riddick does some fancy knife-twirling.