Underworld Reboot Is Being Planned, Director Len Wiseman Reveals

Director Len Wiseman has confirmed that a reboot of the vampire versus werewolf saga, Underworld, is still being planned. Speaking with EW, Wiseman, who has directed several installments in the Underworld franchise beginning with the first outing back in 2003, was asked whether there are “any plans to bring Underworld back in any fashion?” Check out what the filmmaker had to say below:

“There is a fashion that is in the works. I can't talk about it, but there is a future to Underworld for sure.”

Over the last several years there has been talk of both a sixth sequel on the big screen and a possible small screen adaptation. And it’s the latter to which Wiseman is referring, with the director saying simply, “That's the one I'm referring to,” when asked about development on the TV show.

The Underworld franchise first began with the story of Selene (Kate Beckinsale) way back in 2003, with the leather-clad character leading the charge as a Death Dealer bent on destroying the Lycans who allegedly killed her family. Of course, Underworld features all the bullet-time style effects and wire fu you would expect from an action movie in the early noughties.

While Underworld was not particularly well received by critics, the franchise went on to find a passionate following, spawning a multitude of sequels such as Underworld: Evolution (2006), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), Underworld: Awakening (2012), and Underworld: Blood Wars (2016).

A sixth Underworld movie has often been discussed, though it sounds like Wiseman has now set his sights on rebooting the franchise in serial form.

Kate Beckinsale Wants an Underworld/Blade Crossover

Underworld also has several canceled crossover projects under its belt, including one featuring Aaron Eckhart’s I, Frankenstein, one set in the zombie-ridden world of Resident Evil, and another starring the Marvel character Blade. While it’s unlikely any of these will ever materialize, Kate Beckinsale is still holding out hope that Selene could one day share the screen with The Daywalker. Blade is now all set to join the MCU, with Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali on board to play the vampire hunter.

I really wanted them to do an Underworld-Blade mashup,” she said back in 2021. “What a duo (Selene and Blade) would be. I would definitely do that, but I think they just wanted to reboot Blade as Blade , so they didn't go for it."

 

As for the Underworld TV show, Wiseman discussed details of the project back in a 2016 conversation with Collider.

“There's been a lot of conversations and even development on what that series would be. It's really appropriate for television, in terms of how those characters can really tie in, but also become something new. It's really an attractive space. I don't want to put a date on it because then that's going to be printed and it might not happen in that timeframe, but it is a thought.”

As for Wiseman, he will next helm the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas as Rooney, a ballerina who seeks revenge by hunting down the people who killed her family. Ballerina is scheduled to be released on June 7, 2024.