Riddick was one of 2013’s most entertaining and satisfying genre movies for many reasons, the most important being that it brought Vin Diesel‘s favorite character back to his darker, more violent roots in gloriously bloody R-rated style. I loved it on first viewing and on the second it just seemed to improve a bit in spite of its flaws.

The movie is hitting Blu-ray in a few weeks and among the extras are an extended director’s cut with eight minutes of additional footage, several behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the motion comic, Riddick: Blindsided, which acts as prequel of sorts to the film.

Blindsided was released online over the summer prior to Riddick‘s theatrical release. You can watch it here below.

The motion comic was created using storyboards originally drawn up for an action sequence that didn’t make it into the theatrical version of the film (but could still turn up in the extended Blu-ray cut). These storyboards were digitally colored and animated to create a sequence that – without giving too much away – offers an additional explanation for how Riddick ends up where he does at the beginning of the movie. It also helps to wrap up the storyline suggested by the ending of The Chronicles of Riddick and get the character back to ass-kicking basics with bright splashes of blood and carnage thrown in for flavor.

Riddick will be available on Blu-ray beginning January 14, 2014. You can pre-order it here.

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