Kate Beckinsale will Return for Another 'Underworld' Film; TV Series in the Works

The Underworld franchise isn't going anywhere any time soon, not after four movies and more than $450M for the low-budget vampire flicks. Although Kate Beckinsale has been the lead "death dealer" for much of the series, a surprising move was made earlier this year when Theo James signed on to return and lead the fifth film, titled Underworld: Next Generation. So does that mean we've seen the last of Beckinsale's Selene? Not according to her husband and Underworld director, Len Wiseman, who should probably know a thing or two on the situation.

Appearing at NYCC over the weekend, Wiseman revealed to IGN that Beckinsale isn't done with Underworld just yet. Not only that, but we may be seeing the Vampire/Lycan war spread to TV!

Wiseman: There’s a few things being developed right now. There are some characters who we really liked that will be in a kind of a spin-off like we did with Rise of the Lycans, then we have another film in the works with Kate [Beckinsale] as well…and then there’s a television series. 

A television series seems like a natural move for the franchise, especially with so many new shows focusing on the supernatural world.

The spinoff Underworld: Next Generation would have Theo James returning as David, who previously appeared in 2012's Underworld: Awakening. It may also involve Eve (India Eisley), the hybrid daughter of Selene and her human lover, Michael (Scott Speedman). Filming is expected to begin next year with a script by Priest writer, Cory Goodman.

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Blu-Ray Deal of the Week: ''Underworld' and 'Resident Evil' Collections for 60% Off

Quick name two of the most successful and long-running franchises in Hollywood history! Okay, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter will probably spring to mind first but not far behind them are two unlikely options: Underworld and Resident Evil. Underworld, which began in 2003 with Kate Beckinsale as a vampire "Death Dealer" battling werewolves, has earned over $450M through four films with a fifth on the way. Resident Evil, based on the Capcom video games, has done even better with more than $900M through five movies with the sixth and final coming in 2016.

For this week only you can stock up on both franchises at an incredible price. You can get Underworld: The Legacy Collection for only $27.99, that's 63% off what you'll pay in stores! For that you get all four movies plus hours of bonus content which hopefully includes more of Beckinsale in skintight leather. And for only $31.99 you can also get The Resident Evil Collection; all five movies for 67% off.

Click on the above links and order yours today! We appreciate the support you continue to show our sponsors as it helps us a great deal. Punch Drunk Critics earns a small fee every time one of our readers buys from any of our links.

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Theo James Returns to Lead New 'Underworld' Film

While heartthrob Theo James may have had many women wishing they were Divergent earlier this year, the actor had previously been part of another major franchise. In 2012 he starred opposite Kate Beckinsale in Underworld: Awakening, playing her vampire colleague David, aiding the "Death Dealer" in a fight against the government. His character was basically there because Scott Speedman didn't return and there needed to be a hot guy to tag along with Beckinsale, but it turns out he's suddenly become much more important.

Only a few days ago we learned of a planned reboot of the Underworld franchise, only now it turns out the film is actually a true sequel that will center on David. James will return to reprise the role, joined by two female characters that have yet to be cast. THR describes it as an "expansion" of the Underworld universe and it doesn't appear Beckinsale will be a part of it. Cory Goodman (Priest) is writing the screenplay with plans for shooting to begin next spring, so this is moving pretty quickly.

Producers had an option on James after he starred in the last Underworld film, and it should pay off as James' profile has increased greatly since. He's set to star with Shailene Woodley in the upcoming Divergent sequels, Insurgent and Allegiant.

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Next 'Underworld' Film to be a Franchise Reboot

Built around Kate Beckinsale as a spandex-sporting vampire, the Underworld franchise has been surprisingly long lived and lucrative. The fourth movie in the series, 2012's Underworld: Awakening, was the highest grossing of the bunch with $160M, but apparently Lakeshore Entertainment thinks it can do better with a reboot.

THR reports that Cory Goodman, writer of the awful Paul Bettany action flick Priest, has been hired to pen an Underworld reboot. Underworld has largely been the baby of Len Wiseman (Beckinsale's husband, by the way), and he directed two of the four movies centering on Selene, a death-dealing bloodsucker stuck in the middle of a war between Lycans (werewolves) and vampires.

No word on what a reboot would actually entail, and if that means Beckinsale is out. It's an odd strategy to relaunch Underworld at a time when it's more popular globally than ever, but maybe there's more to this story than meets the eye.

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New photos: Captain America; Kate Beckinsale in Underworld 4; Thor

There are way too many new photos out there for me to collect them all, so let's just deal with the ones that are of the most interest.  First up, there's a new image from Captain America: The First Avenger, which is directed by Joe Johnston, and stars Chris Evans as the patriotic superhero.  You can check that one out above, showing Cap after taking a nice little beatdown.  The film is due out in theaters on July 22nd.

Shooting on Underworld: New Dawn is currently underway, and now we've got our first glimpse of the sexy Kate Beckinsale in full latex as the vampire Selene. That film is due out on January 20th, 2012!Thanks to TooFab for the photo!

And lastly, Superhero Hype has over two dozen new shots from Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Hemsworth as the Norse god of thunder. Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins co-star.  I plucked out the ones I think are the coolest. You can check those out below. Thor is scheduled for a May 6th release.

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Underworld 4 official title and plot details revealed

We learned back in September that Kate Beckinsale would be slipping into the black leather once again for a fourth installment of the Underworld franchise. Yay! At the time little was known other than the planned 3D release in January 2012. Well now that's changed.

BloodyDisgusting has managed to learn that the next film will be titled Underworld 4: New Dawn. Oh yay, another subtitle signifying rebirth of some sort. That's a new one. Why not just call it The Dark Vampire Rises? Or Werewolf Begins?  There's also a plot now, or atleast a tiny bit of one...

"After being held in a coma-like state for fifteen years, vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) learns that she has a fourteen-year-old vampire/Lycan hybrid daughter, Nissa, and when she finds her they must stop BioCom from creating super Lycans that will kill them all."
That's not official, so don't be surprised if it changes or is completely thrown out. I actually like the idea of following up on Selene's relationship with that human dude Scott Speedman played. Sorry, can't be bothered to look up his name.

The Swedish directing duo of Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein will be taking over the directing reins from Patrick Tatopoulos. Len Wiseman, who helmed the first two Underworld flicks, is still on board as a producer.

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Kate Beckinsale returns for Underworld 4

After taking a break from the last film in the Underworld series, Kate Beckinsale has signed on to reprise her role as the Death Dealer Selene. Word of a fourth film was revealed not long after the success of  2009's Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

The next flick is expected to be in 3-D, the script was written by John Hlavin with a rewrite by J. Michael Straczynski(Babylon 5). Screen Gems  has set a tentative release date set for early in 2012.  A director has not yet been named.

Without Beckinsale the series didn't exactly slow down. All three Underworld films have grossed over $90M worldwide, for a total box office take of nearly $300M. 

Good news. You can really go wrong with vampires vs. werewolves, but even so I thought Rise of the Lycans was a bit of a step down creatively. Part of the reason was the loss of Selene as a driving character, since she's really what the stories have been centered around all these years.

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