MovieChat Forums > Riddick (2013) Discussion > Did this movie change the canon on Riddi...

Did this movie change the canon on Riddick's eyes?


Based on a Necro quote in this movie about having seen warriors from Furya (or at least one badass Furyan) with the glazed eyes, it less-than-subtly insinuated that Riddick's eyes were a known Furyan trait.

But in Pitch Black, Riddick says in no uncertain terms that he got his eyes 'shined' in prison - so he could see people in the dark trying to kill him or some such - and if memory serves, even went into detail about how it was a risky procedure.

Seems weird they'd change the canon in this movie to be some more mythical trait, even if that observation about Furyans was not confirmed (or denied).

reply

The canon was already changed with The Chronicles of Riddick and the game (Escape from Butcher Bay) in 2004.

reply

Hm, been a while since I watched Chronicles, must have missed or forgot a mention of any of that. I'll have to watch it again soon.

reply

I don't remember everything about Chronicles, but I thought it supported that the eyes were from a medical procedure.

reply

It's an animal thing. ?

reply

i played the game and that is where he got the eye shine. its a procedure some shady dude does to him in prison.

reply

You don't remember the game that well. After Riddick meets the Pope in prison, he looks into a dark tunnel, has a vision about Furya, then his eyes transform into the ones that can see in the dark.

There was no procedure. Just the same kind of random vision he had in the Chronicles movie, then he got a super power. It's a rather lame retcon, imo. I much prefer the origin he had in Pitch Black.

reply

which is exactly the story that he told in pitch black. everything else plays after pitch black and as far as i remember they stuck to that story all the way. what are people talking about in regards of changing the canon?

reply

In CoR Keira asks if anything Riddick said was true as she had what he claimed and could find no clue. This film suggests its a Furyan trait, but at the moment I'd say it's ambiguous.

reply

In TCOR Linus Roache plays "the purifier".

He reveals to Riddick that he is also Furyian - he does not have the night vision eyes.

- In Pitch Black, if you were able to take Riddick at his word - which you obviously can not - he says he had his eyes surgically altered in prison.

- This is obviously called into question when he finds himself back in Crematoria in TCOR and he is confronted by Jack who was trying to duplicate the procedure.

For all we or anyone knows Riddick's condition may even be a birth defect, but given that we have seen one other Furyian - The Purifier - who does not have the same eyes, it is safe to say that they are not a Furian trait - there is something unique about Riddick.

reply

Riddick is a known Furyan. Not only is he a Furyan though, like the purifier, but he is an alpha male, and this may explain the difference in his eyes. In the beginnings of Escape from Butcher Bay, Riddick's eyes are normal, and only change when he is escaping from jail and his alpha male powers start manifesting.

reply

- This is obviously called into question when he finds himself back in Crematoria in TCOR and he is confronted by Jack who was trying to duplicate the procedure.

Jack didn't say she'd had the procedure done. She said she couldn't find anyone who either 'would' do it or 'could' do the procedure. It doesn't mean that Riddick lied about having the procedure done in prison.

I might also add that the Furyian woman in Riddick's vision also doesn't have eyes like him. He obviously had it done.


reply

[deleted]

I think it's intended to be one of those things you never find the answer to.
Finding out would kill the mystery... kinda like knowing who The Stig is!

reply

Re-watching TCOR again - its my favorite so far - and my wife just pointed out to me that Riddick's eyes are identical to the big feline type beasts that are set free to roam the prison and attack the prisoners periodically.

Not sure if it could mean anything, but it was interesting anyways.

reply

In the game, Riddick gets the eye shine from an awakening during his escape from the prison :
From the Chronicles of Riddick Wiki entry for Pope Joe from the Escape from Butcher Bay game:

After Riddick accomplished this task, Joe, in return, helped him by stitching up a wound Riddick had gained on his arm. While Joe did so, Riddick experienced a Furyan awakening that was triggered by Shirah. This awakening activated Riddick's eyeshine. In response, Riddick grabbed Joe by the throat and accused him of tampering with his eyes, but Joe responded that he only stitched up Riddick's injured arm.

Riddick chose to remember this experience differently. He believed (at least until he gained full knowledge of his Furyan origins) that Joe did a surgical shine job operation on his eyes in return for 20 Menthol Kools.

-So I assume the eyes were the same, but the pacifier didn't have his awakening - perhaps because of what becoming a necromonger does to you.

reply

Anyone else hate the whole Furyan thing? He was so badass in PB. Then they make him a part of some mythical race, and for me it just ruins every awesome thing he did in PB.

Call me Snake.

reply

Haha, yeah, I always did. I can find some qualities to all the films, but boy did I hate that bit of writing. Before, he was incredibly badass for a human. Now he's superhuman, and so there is no longer a frame of reference for his badassery. Now he's magic.

reply

I don 't think the Furyans were mythical or supernatural. What I got is that they were an extremely strong race (physically superior), and it was explained that Riddick had a knack for escape, plus he was in some sort of army I believe.

reply

It's been many years since I saw 'Pitch Black', and maybe 2 since 'Chronicles' so don't remember the lines, but in Pitch Black, maybe Riddick lied about his eyes to not have to explain his origins and skip the questions. I think he would be the kind of person to skip questions! :P

But i'm not even sure what is this ''change the canon'' thing !!!

Maybe I'm really out of the track...!

reply

Riddick did not truly get his eyes 'shined'

he told the girl that in the first movie just to get her creativity going. I haven't played the game but I wouldn't go very far based on that- games generally aren't canon

it likely is a Furyan quality or totally unique to him

If i go crazy will you still call me Superman?

reply

In this case the games ARE canon.

They retconned his eye shine abillity. During Pitch Black he did get his eyes shined.
There was this flash animation on the Pitch Black website at the time that showed this. Riddick was transferred to a prison on the moon called Luna max. There he tries to escape and jumps in a pit. In the pit he encounters people who got their eyes shined because its so dark.
Riddick finds a doctor who is able to do the procedure, but the doc tells him theres a big chance he won't survive the surgery. Riddick wants it anyway, even refusing any form of anesthetic. (cus Riddick luv dah pain, yo)
He then continues to escpae, and then Johns gets sent to get him back.

It was badass, way better than the stupid superhuman thing.

In the Riddick game Escape from butcher bay, they sort of mix the original story with the retconned one. Instead of Luna Max its a prison called Butcher Bay, on a planet. And Johns is the one taking him there as a prisoner.

At this point, Riddick still has normal eyes. Soon after arriving Riddick sets his escape in motion. When he tries to get out, he uses a place called The Pit. Its a dark underground sort of sewer. There he finds pope Joe and he offers to stitch Riddick's cut on his arm.
After the stitcing Riddick wants to leave through a hole in the wall that leads to the guard quarters. Before he tries to do this, he gets a vison, sort of awakening from some Furyan woman that tells him he's been blind for too long. He then magicly recieves his eye shine trait. He first thinks pope joe did this, but he didn't. Joe asks what Riddick sees and Riddick's answers with:"Everything!"
The game takes place in a flashback that Riddick has when is on the ice planet that you see in the first part of Chronicles of Riddick. Riddick remembers it as sort of a repressed memory as if he at the time of Pitch Black, Riddick actually thought it was a surgery.

Anyway, I prefer the original origins for his eye shine. At the time it was a sci-fi. Now its more like a sience fiction fantasy story.

Sorry for the long post and perhaps bad English.



reply

it likely is a Furyan quality or totally unique to him ...
Yes! He's an alien, a Furya and he's had neat "super" (if you like) eyes in all 3 movies. I don't see an issue. It works for me.šŸ­

reply

Vakko just mentions that the furian he encountered had similar eyes to him. Have you lot not considered he got his eyes shined also for whatever reason? I don't think its portrayed as a furian trait as the purifier didn't have his eyes shined.

reply

Vaako's mention of the other Furyian is probably not officially canon considering it was just a deleted scene. Even if it is, I took it to mean they had the same look in their eyes, not eyeshine. Since most fans of the series have probably not played Escape From Butcher Bay, you'd think Twohy would bring up the "true" origin of Riddick's eyes in a movie.

Thit and thpin!

reply

I guess they didn't like the original idea because it didn't fit into the mythology they were building.

But if they had a general idea of where the story was going from the beginning, then Riddick lied to Jack about his eyes. Which was confirmed by the sequel Chronicles.

We don't know anything about Furya or its people. I think it is safe to assume that not all the people were warriors. Hence The Purifier did not develop those eyes OR (more macabre) the Purifier lost his special vision when he was turned into a Necro.

I think The Purifier did get a vision from the same woman goddess who appeared to Riddick. Which was why he saved him and out of atonement, killed himself.

However the big irony which no one gets is that Riddick was NOT the Furyan of the prophecy. The Purifier was all along. The last Lord Marshall's hubris got the best of him when he allowed the Purifier to live.

reply

Well.. Riddick was the one to kill the Lord Marshall. By your logic you could say that his mom was the Furyan prophecy for birthing Riddick, because without her he wouldn't exist. I assume since the purifier dragged Riddick out of the sun to save his life you are saying this?

It was Riddick, everything else was just put in place to help him. Without Kyra he wouldn't have won the fight, so if she was Furyan you would be saying the big irony "no one gets" is that it was her in the prophecy, lol.

reply

In Pitch Black... he said it's a 'shine job'


that could easily be looked at as a 'lie'


A typical Alpha Furyan will have the 'glazed eyes' while standard furyan's have normal looking eyes.


Doesn't matter about the canon being changed, as in the first movie he said '#shine job' for 20 menthol? or something i see that as a lie.


so he just lied to the kid that's all.

reply