A month ago at Comic Con, Len Wiseman was keeping his fingers crossed that a fourth film in the Underworld franchise would soon come together. Seems like his superstitious digit-manipulation paid off: Sony has just announced a January 2012 theatrical release date for **Underworld 4.
It's the traditional slot for the vampires-v-werewolves series (i.e. buried in the quiet period after Christmas), for which there's talk of 3D, of course, and of the return of Mrs Wiseman herself, Kate Beckinsale, to the role of leather catsuited vamp Trinity knock-off Seline. BD reports that her role will be reduced, although reducing it from the third film, which she wasn't in, would be tough. That was a prequel though, whereas Underworld 3D continues on from Underworld: Evolution. Seline now has two daughters, and there's talk of torch-passing... Underworld: The Next Generation?
Last we heard, John Hlavin (a writer on The Shield) was penning the script. There's no director officially attached yet, and while some sources are confident of Wiseman's return, we imagine that's unlikely. It's still his franchise (he directed the first two and oversaw Rise of the Lycans as producer), but with Nocturne, Shell Game, Shrapnel, Atlantis Rising, Gears of War and, very possibly, Total Recall at various stages of development, we doubt a full step back to Underworld is top of his agenda.