Vin Diesel discusses involvement in Marvel's Phase Three

After teasing a relationship with Marvel on Twitter and subsequently being confirmed as the voice of Groot in the upcoming adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy, it seems Vin Diesel's relationship with Marvel may continue.

Bleeding Cool reports that the Riddick actor revealed he has been involved in talks regarding the studio's much-discussed Phase Three. In an interview with Maria Menounos, Diesel hints at a "merging of brands" sometime in 2016.

“When I met with Marvel it wasn’t for anything immediate,” Diesel explains. "It was to talk about a film that would be introduced in the Phase 3 part of Marvel, not for a few years. You wouldn’t be able to see it for a few years. In my mind, Marvel were doing it right, they were enrolling me at the ground level which is the best way to enrol me.

“I had heard people over the last year, people saying on the social media page saying ‘What’s up Vin? Why aren’t you going to Marvel? Why aren’t you doing anything with Marvel? It would be a crime of cinematic history for you not to be in [Marvel movies]‘

“So I was thinking ‘This Marvel thing is really becoming really important for these people. What can I do? What should I think about?’

“I get the call, I go down to Marvel. A great meeting. It was even talking about something so big I can’t even talk about because it’s like the merging of brands in a way, which I won’t get into. That was something way, way, way, way, way down the road.

“The next Monday, Marvel talks to me and says 'We’re going to send something over in two weeks. We want to focus on the 2016 but we also want to, if possible, answer this growing request for something now.' I don’t have six months to play a character in the immediate future, it’s all booked… there was no way I was going to be able to deliver… after Comic-Con, we were at a stalemate…”

According to reports, it was at this point that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and Guardians director James Gunn decided to keep Diesel in the family, casting him as Groot.

Quite what Diesel means when he talks about "brands" is anybody's guess, but 2016 could mean involvement in Joss Whedon's third Avengers film, which is expected to kick off a new era for Marvel's cinematic universe.

Some have speculated that the actor's physicality would be perfect for the character of Black Panther, while invulnerable ex-con Luke Cage could also be a possibility.