Los Angeles, Oct 12 (IANS): The third instalment of the "XXX" movie series, "XXX: The Return of Xander Cage", which has been in development for years, is about to move forward as it has found a director to tackle the project. Actor Vin Diesel has revealed that D.J. Caruso, the director of "Disturbia", would helm the film.

"I'm excited as hell about 'XXX'. D.J. Caruso is directing it, which is exciting," Diesel was quoted as saying by io9, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Despite the fact that Diesel previously claimed that filming would get underway by the end of 2015, it seemed like he was hesitant about it.

With "Fast and Furious 8" slated to be released on April 14, 2017, Diesel was unsure if the third instalment of "XXX" would start filming before the car-racing sequel.

"The big question now is which will race to production first now that F. Gary Gray is on ('Furious 8')? Will 'XXX' race to production first or will Fast race to production first?" Diesel wondered.

Now that "Straight Outta Compton" maker F. Gary Gray has been tapped as "Furious 8" director, people speculate that the film would get underway first, preceding "XXX 3".

"'XXX' is one of those films you do when you need to have a little fun. When the weight and pressures of all the other things have gone so far that you need to have a character that you can just have fun and more comment on life and comment on the outcome than being in it like Dom Torretto" the actor said.

"Dom is very much the center of the storm, Xander is more the guide to something else and you're just with him."

In 2002's "XXX", Diesel played Xander Cage, an extreme sports expert who becomes a secret agent.

It was followed by a sequel entitled "XXX: State of the Union" in 2005, which starred Ice Cube.