The Underworld movies achieved exactly what they set out to do: show Kate Beckinsale in a series of tight outfits blasting and kicking her way through hi-octane action sequences. They were never likely to please critics but dammit, if you wanted to sit in a theater and watch a pretty lady shoot monsters, they were your best bet (well, that or a Resident Evil flick).
Debuted in 2003, the franchise proved to have long legs, racking up five entries (and an animated movie) over the next 14 years, closing out with Underworld: Blood Wars in 2017. And now the whole bloody collection is coming to Netflix for your streaming pleasure in May. But could this be a hint that a sixth film might be on the cards?
Creator Len Wiseman hinted in 2017 that another sequel was in development and that they planned to continue the story of Beckinsale’s Selene. Sadly, plans for this stalled, partly due to Blood Wars grossing a franchise-low $81 million at the box office and partly because Beckinsale ruled out returning.
Her reasons for this are pretty solid: she married Wiseman after the first Underworld and the pair filed for divorce just before Blood Wars hit cinemas, so its understandable she doesn’t want to work with her ex. On top of that, in interviews she said:
“I never anticipated doing one of those heavy-weight, very physical franchise things. It was scary to see myself on movie posters on the side of every single bus.”
Also, she’s 46 and a mother, so maybe she just doesn’t want to squeeze back into spandex pants and throw down with the undead. But while Beckinsale might be out, there have been hints of an Underworld TV series in the pipeline. Who knows, perhaps Netflix acquiring the streaming rights might be a hint that they’ve picked it up?