That rascally strike has resulted in the greenlighting of another awful movie. At least that’s my theory. I thought we'd all collectively agreed that this Underworld thing had run its course? No? Because HR says Underworld 3 has been given the go ahead, and it’ll be a prequel.

They’re calling it Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans. I can’t help but wonder if there was a Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines poster hanging on the wall somewhere near the cubicle of the guy who came up with it.

The bad news, aside from the fact that this is being made, is that it’s being made without Kate Beckinsale. She’s having nothing to do with it. Similarly her husband Len Wiseman, who directed the first two films, will step back and take a producer credit for this one while creature effects creator Patrick Tatopoulos takes the helm. Michael Sheen however, will be back as Lycan head honcho Lucian. Also involved will the great Bill Nighy, who was probably the best thing about the franchise so far. New to the cast is Rhona Mitra, playing Viktor’s daughter and secret lover of Lucian.

The film will follow the storyline hinted at in the first movie. Set in the Dark Ages, it will tell the tragic and terribly romantic tale of the Lycan/werewolf Lucian who falls in love with a vampire princess. There’s potential here for something good, both Sheen and Nighy were great in the first film and the flashbacks we saw of this era in their history were interesting. But Underworld 2 was awful and this feels like a franchise that’s already run out of steam.