Man, UNDERWORLD was my jam back in high school (and if anyone sees my staff photo, that should come as a surprise to no one). It just hit all the right marks for me – cool action, sleek costumes, awesome soundtrack. And while it wasn't particularly deep per se, the layered motivations of initial antagonist Lucian were pretty nuanced for a film like this (to the point where he was the main character in the second UNDERWORLD sequel). It's just a shame that the fourth and fifth films – AWAKENING and BLOOD WARS – were so disappointing (especially AWAKENINGS, which reversed the "Selene is bringing the Lycans and Vampires together" arc the first three films seemed to be setting up in one way or another).
However, like I said, I loved the first one, and even enjoyed the next two films in the franchise. So I'm actually cautiously optimistic about about the upcoming TV show from Len Wiseman – co-writer and director of the film two films, and producer on all subsequent sequels. Here's what had this to say about the upcoming series:
“The series will be a pretty big departure from the films…I don’t want to say it’s more adult, but it’s definitely less comic book in its tone and character.”
This makes sense I suppose. With a lower – or at least more spread out – budget on TV, it seems logical to ground it in character and dialogue rather than explosive martial arts action and shoot-outs. Though hopefully they still have a lot of those as well…
So any other UNDERWORLD fans out there? And if so, you excited for a TV show? Either way, sound off below!