[v]XXX 4 [/v] is gearing up for production and they’ve just locked in a key piece of the puzzle. Legendary Japanese rockstar and drummer/co-founder of the band X Japan, Yoshiki is set to score the upcoming installment of the action franchise, in addition to composing a new theme song. It’s amazing that it’s taken this long for Vin Diesel’s Xander Cage to get his own theme song, but better late than never.

The news came to light via a press release from The H Collective, the production company behind xXx 4. The rockstar previously worked on soundtracks for movies such as Saw IV and Repo! The Genetic Opera, as well as the anime series Attack on Titan. The studio is apparently very happy to be working with Yoshiki Hayashi as they’ve also tapped him to compose music for another one of their projects, the animated feature Spycies. Yoshiki had this to say about his latest gig in a statement.

"I’m excited to be part of the new xXx film and Spycies; composing the new theme songs and collaborating on the film scores."

Vin Diesel recently took to Instagram to ask his fans who they would like to see join him on screen in xXx 4. Currently, the only other confirmed new cast member is Jay Chou (The Green Hornet). The sequel was initially announced in April of last year, after The H Collective acquired the rights to the franchise. Nic Crawley, the company’s CEO, had this to say in a statement.

"Yoshiki is a great friend of ours at THC and we are incredibly proud to be working with such a talent on two movies which are both global in scope. Spycies brings together talent from the US, Japan, China and France."

Up until 2017, the franchise had been dead for more than a decade. However, with the release of xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, the series was reignited, in no small part thanks to the stardom that Vin Diesel has achieved in recent years. The movie grossed $346 million worldwide working from an $85 million production budget. While that may not be up there with what Diesel can bring in with a Fast and Furious movie, it represents a solid return and gives the studio plenty of reason to believe that another installment will be a worthwhile investment.

xXx4 is currently in pre-production and filming is expected to begin in 2019. Though, an exact start date has not yet been locked down. D.J. Caruso, who helmed the previous installment, is back in the director’s chair. Vin Diesel recently wrapped filming on Sony’s Bloodshot, and he’s also got Fast and Furious 9 on deck. xXx 4 does not currently have a release date. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as further details on the project are made available. Feel free to check out the announcement fro The H Collective Twitter account below.

A drummer, a pianist, and now a certified member of the xXx 4 family. Welcome @yoshikiofficial! pic.twitter.com/ODPdt7mIcW

— The H Collective (@THCFilm) January 22, 2019