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Kate Beckinsale Confirms She's Done With Underworld Movies
Those fans hoping to see Kate Beckinsale reprise her role of Selene in the Underworld movies are in for a letdown, as she's done with the franchise. Moviegoers generally love vampires. Whether they're throat-ripping beasts or romantic sparkly love interests, bloodsuckers have a long history of success in cinema. Despite their status as an iconic monster, werewolves have actually seen much less success overall, at least when it comes to box office glory. In 2003, Screen Gems and director Len Wiseman saw fit to combine the two nocturnal creatures into one film, with the action-packed Underworld.
Despite pans from critics, Underworld's monster mash was a big hit with audiences, earning nearly $100 million worldwide on a budget of only $22 million. The film also rocketed star Beckinsale to the Hollywood A-list, so it's no surprise that she opted to return for 2006's Underworld: Evolution, which made even more money than the original. Beckinsale bowed out for 2009 prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, leading to a sharp drop in fan interest. She returned for 2012's Underworld: Awakening, easily the highest-grossing of the series. Sadly, audiences didn't care to go see 2017's Underworld: Blood Wars, the lowest-grossing entry.
Not a peep has been heard about another Underworld movie since the January 2017 release of Blood Wars, but it turns out that even if producers do want to make another, their star isn't willing to come back. During a recent interview with Variety, Beckinsale was asked if she'd return for another Selene adventure, and wasn't at all vague about her intentions not to do so.
Quote:
I wouldn’t return. I’ve done plenty of those.
While Beckinsale doesn't elaborate further on why she doesn't care to return for more Underworld movies, it seems pretty clear that she's just tired of playing Selene, and feels like she's done all she needs to with the character. There are surely many diehard Underworld fans who would disagree, but Beckinsale doesn't seem to be leaving room for doubt with her proclamation. Perhaps if Sony - owner of Screen Gems - backed up the money truck she'd change her mind, but considering how poorly Blood Wars did, it's hard to imagine why they would.
Perhaps one other reason for Beckinsale's reluctance to make more Underworld films is her 2016 divorce from Wiseman, who she married after their work together on the first movie. Blood Wars had already completed filming by the time the couple made their break-up official, and Wiseman still guides the Underworld franchise as a creator and producer. Either way, Wiseman said last year that he was planning to bring Underworld to the small screen as a TV series that would star new characters and serve as a companion to the films. Beckinsale wouldn't be needed for that project, but it's been nearly a year since an update on it was provided, so it may have ended up in limbo.
