One of the fascinating things about Riddick, especially Pitch Black Riddick, is that you’re never sure if you should trust him, even while you’re trusting him, but of all of them in the situation, he’s the most honorable person there. Complex and dynamic indeed! I loved getting a hero that wasn’t a caricature good guy, a cardboard cutout. Instead, we get this multilayered character with his own drives and personality. No wonder he’s a cult figure.

• READ: Modern classic: Pitch Black

“I think Pitch Black celebrates a real hero,” said Vin Diesel to Sci Fi Weekly on the film that launched his career, and on the character that he has continued to be associated with throughout it. “I don’t think we’ve had a complex and dynamic protagonist in a long time, and what’s interesting about this film is that the character who I play, Riddick, starts out as a criminal. He starts out as a convict and, within this small core of survivors, is subject to the prejudices and all of the judgmental stuff that goes on in society in general. But the survivors are forced to depend on this convict, and that raises an interesting question: When push comes to shove, do you rely on the killer?”