Kate Beckinsale Returning For UNDERWORLD 5

You can’t keep a good sexy, leather-clad vampire down apparently, as Kate Beckinsale will be returning for Underworld 5, once again playing Selene, the undead warrior locked in the struggle between vampires and werewolves.

The Hollywood Reporter is bringing us the word of Beckinsale once again reupping for the horror-action franchise which launched back in 2003. The main plot line is being kept secret, but Cory Goodman’s script supposedly centers on “a new and younger generation of vampires and werewolves who are locked in a seemingly never-ending battle between supernatural races.”

Taking the directorial reins of the film is Anna Foerster, making her feature film debut here as well as being the first female director for the female-led franchise. Foerster’s resume shows she worked her way up as a cinematographer, first in visual effects to most recently serving as Roland Emmerich’s director of photography on White House Down. She has also directed several hours of television including episodes of Criminal Minds, Madame Secretary and Showtime’s hit Outlander.

Production is set to begin this October in Prague.

I’ve never been much of a fan of the Underworld series. Despite an interesting premise and some intriguing ideas in a couple of the films, I’ve ultimately found the series to be more style over substance, cool visuals for the sake of cool visuals rather than for the sake of telling a good story. Since Beckinsale had previously stated that it was unlikely that there would be a fifth installment in the franchise, should we look to her return as an indication of the script’s strength? Or is this just a quick job to meet a mortgage payment?