I'm sure a lot of people will feel otherwise, but
Kate Beckinsale returning to lead another
Underworld installment is a good piece of news in my book. When it's on the ball, this series is a fun and entertaining, contemporary take on the vampire and werewolf genre that doesn't pretend to be anything but an over-budgeted B-movie. And yes, even when it's not firing on all cyclinders, there's still an element of cool about this universe despite it's over indulgence on CGI. The fourth installment in the Underworld series (known as 'Underworld 4' for now) hasn't found itself a director yet, but it's likely
Len Wiseman (Beckinsale's husband and director of Underworld 1 and 2) will return to helm this one after struggling to convince Hollywood to finance a dozen or so tentpoles (Gears of War, Escape From New York, etc, etc). As for now, he's being billed as a producer alongside Lakeshore Entertainment's Tom Rosenburg and Garv Luchessi.
The script was penned by
John Hlavin (The Shield) and went through some revisions by
J. Michael Straczynski (Ninja Assassin, Changeling, and Spider-Man comic book writer). A compelling mix of talent/genres - the right ingredients to make a good popcorn flick? Let's hope so. As you've probably guessed by now, Underworld 4 will be in jumping into the 3D bandwagon. Hold on to your sighs for the time-being, as rumors are circulating that it'll be shot in 3D instead of just being given an extra dimension during post-production. Vampires, werewolves, stakes, silver bullets, and Kate Beckinsale in a tight leather suit all in REAL 3D sounds good enough to make me pay a tad more for those goofy 3D goggles. Underworld 4 will begin production in Vancouver come March, 2011, with a release date yet to be fixed. I think it's safe to say it'll be out by December 2011 or early 2012.