It seems Sir Michael Caine isn’t quite ready for the quiet life—at 92, he’s reportedly stepping out of retirement to share the screen with an action film legend.
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According to Variety, Caine is returning to acting for a sequel to The Last Witch Hunter, which will again star Vin Diesel. The outlet confirmed that Lionsgate and Diesel’s One Race Films are fast-tracking the sequel.
Caine hasn’t officially signed on yet. However, he’s likely returning as Dolan, the priest who helped Diesel’s Kaulder battle a witch queen and stop a deadly plague in the 2015 film.
Vin Diesel’s The Last Witch Hunter was famously inspired by his own “Dungeons & Dragons” campaigns, where he played as Melkor the Witch Hunter. The movie, released by Lionsgate in 2015, didn’t make waves in North America, earning just $27 million. However, it found better luck overseas with $119 million. Thanks to its surprising popularity on streaming and home video (it even became a top Netflix hit), Lionsgate has decided to bring it back for a sequel—nearly a decade later.
Michael Caine Announced His Retirement in 2023
Meanwhile, the sequel would be Caine’s first film since he announced his retirement from acting in 2023 at age 90. He revealed his retirement while promoting his final film, Oliver Parker’s The Great Escaper. In it, he plays a World War II veteran who escapes his care home to attend a D-Day anniversary commemoration.
“I’ve figured, I’ve had a picture where I’ve played the lead and it’s got incredible reviews,” Caine explained on BBC Radio 4’s Today show back then. “The only parts I’m likely to get now are old men, 90-year-old men, maybe 85. And I thought, ‘Well, I might as well leave with all this — I’ve got wonderful reviews. What have I got to do to beat this?’”
It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Caine was tempted out of retirement by Diesel.
In his memoir Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over, published earlier this year, the veteran actor reflected on his bond with the Fast and Furious star. “Vin’s special. I love Vin,” Caine wrote, per Entertainment Weekly. “We first met at a dinner party about thirty years ago. I just instinctively greeted him with a hug and announced to the whole room, ‘This is my son!’”
Caine was unable to explain the immediate connection between them. “Sometimes, you sense a connection. I just liked the guy immediately, he has a big heart,” the Dark Knight star wrote. “It turned out he was going through some tough times back then, so I think perhaps it made an impression upon him to be embraced and treated with love. Anyway, we’ve been great friends ever since.”