While doing press for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vin Diesel, confirmed that the long-gestating project XXX: The Return of Xander Cage is finally happening. However, it won't materialize right away, since the actor will next move on to The Last Witch Hunter alongside Rose Leslie and Michael Caine for director Breck Eisner, and then Universal's Kojak before the XXX sequel, which will be partially shot in the Philippines.

Here's what Vin Diesel had to say about his upcoming slate of projects.

"I'm about to do a movie with Breck Eisner called The Last Witch Hunter where I play a 700-year-old New Yorker, which should be a lot of fun. Working opposite Michael Caine will be a blast. I've always wanted to work with Michael Caine so it'll be the first time I get to work with Michael Caine. Rose Leslie is also gonna be opposite me, she's amazing in Game of Thrones. Then I will do Kojak for Universal, which is gonna be really exciting. That is one of my grandma's favorite shows, so it will be really interesting for her up in heaven, watching me play Kojak. I am going to do the next XXX which will be filming in part in the Philippines, which I'm very, very, very excited about."

We haven't heard anything regarding the Kojak reboot since December 2012, when the actor was cast as the title character, originally portrayed by Telly Savalas in the TV series of the same name that ran from 1973 to 1978. The series followed the exploits of New York detective Theo Kojak, who was often seen with his signature lollipop while working cases. Our original report revealed that Skyfall writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were working on the script, although it isn't known if a director is attached at this time. Vin Diesel himself revealed that he wants Ang Lee to direct the reboot, but it isn't known if he was ever offered the job by Universal.

Vin Diesel also revealed back in January that the script for XXX: The Return of Xander Cage is almost ready, and that he wants singer Katy Perry to star alongside him. John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris (The Game, Terminator Salvation) were initially attached to write the script, but it isn't known if new writers have come on board. Original xXx director Rob Cohen signed on to direct back in April 2010, although his involvement is also uncertain at this time.

The actor also expressed his longtime desire to make his long gestating Hannibal the Conqueror, a biopic on the Carthaginian military leader.

"And of course, the trilogy of Hannibal, the thing I'm most precious about and the thing that keeps me-it was just my birthday a couple of days ago and I woke up and I started to count my blessings, as we all do on our birthday, we count our blessing and then we think 'How can I grow as a person, and how can I improve?' And then I immediately went to, 'I haven't made Hannibal yet.'"

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