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Saturday
24Jan2009

'Underworld' Coming to TV?

DateSaturday, January 24, 2009 at 12:51PM
With three number one films in three tries, perhaps people (like me) underestimate the appeal of the Underworld franchise. For my money, it's only one pretty good movie and a bad sequel and now a bad prequel.

But producer Len Wiseman, who also directed the first two films, says he's not ready to stop the series after completing a conventional trilogy, telling Bloody Disgusting, "There's a lot of talk about a television series, Im looking into that. If I could be very involved and can be a certain way, I'd be very interested in that."

"We had always hoped to do a trilogy," Wiseman acknowledges, adding that the storyline is now "kind of open, if people can join us and go back in time - and then leap forward, I'd like to go jump all across the time line."

We'll see how Rise of the Lycans performs at the box office, and not just this weekend. After all, the first movie earned 40% of its revenue in its opening weekend, the second film 43%. That's higher than average, meaning that these movies don't have as long a shelf life as other films. If the third one repeats that performance, then I wouldn't imagine a series would last that long unless the writing is something special or they come up with new characters (because they'll need new characters) that really stand out.

Conversely, TV networks are hurting across the board. The two options open to a lot of the smaller brands are keeping unsuccessful shows on the air hoping they pick up steam or finding a show they don't need to sell as much, one that will bring in its own audience. At least in the short term, Underworld could do that.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

Three number ones? Wow I admit a certain disbelief at learning that. Outside of watching Beckinsale, I didn't really care for the first flick to watch it ever again and I passed on the sequel. To each their own but there just wasn't a strong enough story or action to make it what I thought it should be. I had issues with some of the morphing graphics in Underworld too but perhaps I'm just nitpicky there. That the films have proven successful just goes to show there's something out there for everyone.

Sunday, January 25, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterAsana

Well, it's two number ones now. The prequel debuted strongly on Friday, but that was all it had. So it slipped to number two. But I agree with all of your points: Weak story after they introduce that little universe to you, Beckinsale in leather, and poor visuals.

Sunday, January 25, 2009 | Registered CommenterColin Boyd

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