It's somewhat fitting that a franchise whose main characters are vampires and werewolves seems unable to die. Whether or not you were even aware that the Underworld series was on its fifth entry, the film is coming, though not quite as quickly as we once thought. Underworld: Blood Wars, which was scheduled to hit theaters this October, has been pushed back to January of 2017. No specific explanation has been given.
Having the vampires vs. werewolves movie in a pre-Halloween release date of October 14 certainly makes a lot of sense. It's the time of year that movies fans are more interested in monsters than normal. This makes the announcement from Variety that the movie will now see its release on January 6, 2017, likely not a positive thing for the film.
The report doesn't give any reason for the delay. It could be any number of things. It may be that there were production delays and the film simply won't be ready in time for its October release date. Underworld: Blood Wars should be in post-production at this point, so if this is the reason, it's likely difficulties regarding the films visual effects. It's also possible that the studio, Sony/Screen Gems, just decided that the film would be better for them on the calendar in January. Every other film in the series has seen a January release, and while the sequels have not been blockbusters here, overseas the films have been money makers. However, this change now puts Underworld: Blood Lines in theaters just a couple of weeks before Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, another Sony/Screen Gems production that's likely to appeal to the same audience. It's possible they think they'll be able to get fans of strong women fighting monsters to see the two movies back to back, but it's just as likely that the audience might get their fill of that after seeing the first movie, and then skip the second.
The Underworld franchise began in 2003 and stars Kate Beckinsale as Selene, a vampire engaged in an age-old feud with werewolves, called Lycans in the series. The actress made the first two films in the series with her husband, director Len Wiseman, before leaving for the third entry. Beckinsale returned for Underworld: Awakening in 2012 and will be reprising her role yet again for Underworld: Blood Wars.
We're hoping you weren't desperately awaiting the next entry in the Underworld franchise. Will you possibly be able to stand to wait until January? How many Underworld sequels did you honestly forget they'd even made? Let us know in the comments.
