‘Underworld: Blood Wars’ Delayed To 2017
The Lycans and the vampires will have to wait a little longer for their next showdown. Screen Gems has pushedUnderworld: Blood Warsout of the 2016 Halloween season and all the way into 2017. The fifth installment in the action horror franchise is directed byAnna Foerster(Starz’Outlander).Kate Beckinsaleonce again stars as vampire Selene, andTheo Jamesreturns fromUnderworld: Awakeningas David.
Originally slated for June 25, 2025,Underworld: Blood Warswill now openJanuary 6, 2017. It’ll be up againstAmityville: The Awakening, which has been delayed multiple times before, and Doug Liman and Tom Cruise’s drug thrillerMena. The following week (January 13) bringsMonster Trucks,Friday the 13th, Ben Affleck’sLive by Night, and the historical dramaHidden Figures. No reason was given for the change. While the Halloween season might seem like a better fit forBlood Warsthan the doldrums of January, this is actually pretty normal for theUnderworldseries. The originalUnderworldopened in September, but all the others have been January releases.
Shooting onUnderworld: Blood Warsbegan last fall with a script byCory Goodman. Details are still under wraps, but we knowTobias Menzies(Outlander,Game of Thrones) fame will play a “formidable new Lycan leader” andLara Pulver(Sherlock) will be “a fiercely ambitious vampire.“Charles Dance(Game of Thrones) reprises his role as vampire elder Thomas.James Faulkner,Peter Andersson,Bradley James,Daisy Head, andClementine Nicholsonalso star.
There’s been speculation thatUnderworld: Blood Warscould mark Beckinsale’s last time leading as Selene, with James' David taking over as the new franchise lead. Indeed, there was even talk at one point that Beckinsale might not return at all for this film. But that turned out not to be true, obviously, so you should take the Theo James rumor with a grain of salt too.
The first fourUnderworldmovies have collectively grossed $457 million worldwide (not counting for inflation). That may seem like peanuts compared to the billions earned by theFast and Furiousor Marvel series, but theUnderworldfilms are also much cheaper – their past budgets have topped out around $70 million, although we don’t know how muchBlood Warscosts to make.
