Underworld: Blood Wars Trailer

Trailer for Underworld: Blood Wars, which features the return of Kate Beckinsale to the franchise.

Under the new leadership of Marius, the Lycans have increased in numbers and strength and have decimated many of the vampire covens throughout the world. With the Vampire race being on the brink of extinction, it is up to Selene to save the very coven which banished her and hunted her down as a criminal. Selene must become stronger than ever to defeat what’s in store for her next.

Back in 2014 Lakeshore announced that they planned on doing yet another reboot of the Underworld franchise. While fans assumed another lead female would be sought to carry on the story or provide a spin-off, plans were quickly changed. Only  a month later, casting updates based on an unfinished script pointed towards a sequel rather than a spin-off. Theo James was one of the first confirmed castmembers to return, but Kate Beckinsale's announcement came soon after. Sequel indeed.

Under the working title Underworld: Next Generation, the next installment quickly began to impress by adding Tobias Menzies, Bradley James, Lara Pulver and Charles Dance. Dance, who saw his career reinvigorated thanks to HBO's Game of Thrones, has been a hot commodity of late. It should also be pointed out that Tobias Menzies is also in GoT as well. Maybe the same casting director?

While the production went off without a hitch and provided enough confidence to get Lakeshore and Screen Gems working on a sixth installment, something strange happened. While we don't want to assume what this could mean, Underworld: Blood Wars saw its release pushed from October 21, 2016 to January 6, 2017. The date choice is odd considering the type of film. But what is even weirder is the fact that Screen Gems has confirmed that the sequel will have a limited theatrical release. What?!?

So will the sixth installment be made for TV?

I used to have a super-crush on Kate Beckinsale. I always found her insanely attractive and seeing her in a sadomasochist-pleasing outfit was always enough to convince me to make it a point to see every Underworld installment. Sometimes in theaters, other times at home. Now, at 43 years old, the actress still looks fantastic and easily squeezes into the tight leather required by her character.

Besides showing off Kate Beckinsale, the Underworld: Blood Wars trailer is sure to show off Theo James, Charles Dance and Tobias Menzies. They make an impressive supporting bunch. And Dance, of course, steals the show every scene he's in. Fine, I have a man-crush on Dance as well.

All in all, the trailer looks pretty dang strong Underworld: Blood Wars, which has me scratching my head on what the limited release is all about. While some have called the film a CG spectacle, the only action sequence that felt overly computer-generated was the last action sequence on the ice. That creature looks like it popped out of a video game to fight Selene.

With a limited theatrical release we can only assume that the film will be making its way to home distribution fairly quickly. We likely can hold out for that.