Sequel to the 2002 Blockbuster 'XXX' to Film in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Washington, DC

By James Wray Jul 15, 2004, 14:27 GMT

Vin Diesel starred in the first XxX

Filming will also take place in Baltimore and Washington, DC. The film is directed by Lee Tamahori ("Die Another Day") and stars Ice Cube as the new agent XXX and Samuel L. Jackson, who will reprise his role as NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons. "XXX: State of the Union" will be released by Columbia Pictures on May 13th, 2005.

The film is being produced for Revolution Studios by Neal Moritz ("Stealth," "S.W.A.T.," "XXX," "The Fast and the Furious") and Arne Schmidt ("Big Fish," "XXX," "We Were Soldiers") and is written by Simon Kinberg ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith"). Revolution Studios' Garner and Rob Cohen (director of "Stealth," "XXX," "The Fast and the Furious") are serving as executive producers.

In the follow up to the successful franchise film "XXX," NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson), fresh off the success of his last renegade recruitment, once again finds himself in need of an outsider. Gibbons and his new agent (Ice Cube), also code-named "XXX," must track a dangerous military splinter group led by Willem Dafoe that is conspiring to overthrow the U.S. Government in the nation's capital.

"'XXX' was a tremendously rewarding experience for us, and we are thrilled to be continuing this exciting franchise with 'XXX: State of the Union,'" said Revolution Studios' Garner.

"Ice Cube is a talented and diverse actor and Lee Tamahori is a gifted director, and their unique abilities will make the second film in this franchise as fresh and exciting as the first film."

Ice Cube will next be seen in Revolution Studios' family comedy "Are We There Yet?," which he is also producing. His other feature credits include "Barbershop" and "Barbershop 2," the "Friday" series, "Three Kings," "Higher Learning" and "Boyz N the Hood."

Samuel L. Jackson will next be seen in "Star Wars: Episode III." His previous credits include "S.W.A.T.," "Unbreakable," "Shaft," "Jackie Brown," "Eve's Bayou," which he also produced, "Die Hard with a Vengeance," and "Pulp Fiction," for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

Willem Dafoe most recently starred in "The Clearing" alongside Robert Redford. Dafoe has received two Academy Award nominations for his roles in "Shadow of the Vampire" and "Platoon." His other credits include "Spider-Man," "Finding Nemo," "The English Patient," "Born on the Fourth of July" and "The Last Temptation of Christ."

The cast is rounded out by Scott Speedman ("Underworld," "Duets," television's "Felicity"), Nona Gaye ("The Matrix Revolutions," "The Matrix Reloaded," "Ali"), Peter Strauss (television's "Joan of Arc," "Kane & Abel," "Rich Man, Poor Man"), Sunny Mabrey ("The New Guy"), and Michael Roof ("XXX," "Black Hawk Down").

Lee Tamahori recently finished directing "The Stanford Prison Experiment." His last project was the James Bond film "Die Another Day" with Pierce Brosnan. His other credits include "Along Came a Spider" with Morgan Freeman, "The Edge" with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, and "Mulholland Falls" with Nick Nolte and Melanie Griffith.