Deadline New York is reporting that XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, starring Vin Diesel, has left Columbia Pictures and headed over to Paramount which is under negotiations to finance the production and distribute the film in late 2011 or early 2012.

Rob Cohen is directing and will shoot the new installment with 3D cameras.

I feel what we did in the beginning of the decade was bring a different attitude to the action movie and a different kind of hero," Cohen told the site. "With the new 3D instrument and the techniques I can apply, we can create a different kind of cutting-edge experience in 3D by shooting it that way from the beginning the way James Cameron did 'Avatar.' This won't be fantasy characters, it takes place on Earth in real time. That's a new dimension to be explored, and I'm excited.

Written by Michael Ferris and John Brancato, XXX: The Return of Xander Cage picks up when Xander Cage (Diesel) is left for dead, but returns to execute a very difficult assignment that only he can pull off.

Samuel L. Jackson will reprise his role as Agent Augustus Gibbons.