The hot desert where they filmed was actually about ten degrees Celsius (fifty degrees Fahrenheit). They were misting water on the actors to make it appear as if they were sweating.
Pitch Black (2000) was supposed to be a stand-alone film, but during production, Vin Diesel and the cast and crew had become intrigued by the Riddick character and the ending, in which Riddick was supposed to die. This was changed to leave an opening for a sequel with Vin Diesel returning. The film spawned three sequels, Dark Fury (animated), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), and Riddick (2013).
Vin Diesel actually performed the shoulder-dislocation stunt (when Riddick breaks free for the second time) for the crew, holding a chain between his hands, although he couldn't do it with the cuffs on. The version we see is mostly him with some special effects thrown in.
Vin Diesel had an anxiety attack while inside the cryo-chamber as he felt he was trapped in there too long.
Vin Diesel said of filming in the South Australian outback mining town of Coober Pedy in South Australia that the location "is an amazing place in the middle of the desert; not a tree, not a thing in sight, other than dirt. A few houses make up the 'town' of about two thousand people. I'm from New York - I grew up in a building of a thousand people.