'Underworld 4' Gets Director(s)

If you've never heard of the Swedish directing duo Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein, don't beat yourself up.  Like I said, they're Swedish and only have a handful of credits under their belt.  None of which have made it to the states yet and their biggest film, a thriller starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys-Myers, has only reached as far as the UK and Japan.

Well either Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment either know something we don't or this duo has the greatest agents in the world, because they're currently negotiating a deal to direct Underworld 4.

In full disclosure I've never seen a single frame of anything this pair has directed.  There are very few people that can actually say they have.  That being said, there are really only two ways this thing plays out.  After the prequel/waste of time that was Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, either these unknown foreign directors will breathe new life into what was once a pretty intriguing franchise or they'll be the final nail in the coffin.

Details about the film are still sparse, but here's what else we know at this point.  Filming is set to begin this March in Vancouver with the ever lovely Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as the vampire Selene.  Beckinsale's husband and director of the first two films, Len Wiseman, is returning to produce a script from The Shield writer John Hlavin with rewrites from J. Michael Straczynski.

As far as the story itself goes, rumor has it that Selene will have a daughter and will follow the family's exploits after the events of Underworld 2.  In addition, screenwriter Hlavin had this to say, "It will satisfy old fans and excite new audiences... meaning that we don’t want to redo the first three movies, so steps are being taken to honor what fans have loved but at the same time introduce fresh elements.”

As a fan of horror and sci-fi, I really enjoyed the first film but my interest in the series has faded with every film that came after.  So the idea of bringing back what made the original film any good does have me a little hopeful.  And those involved seem to be saying all the right things.  As for now we'll just have to wait and see if the Helsinki Experiment pays off.

Underworld 4 is schedule for release January 20, 2012.

Comments

[Joel Burman]

They are actually pretty good directors. I like both their feature Storm and their historical mini series "Snapphanar". They are good story tellers and probably fit quite well for this kind of film.