Fifteen years have passed since Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and her human-Lycan hybrid lover Michael vanquished the Vampire Elder Marcus in Underworld Evolution. In the intervening years, mankind has discovered the existence of both the Vampire and Lycan clans, and launched an all-out war to eradicate both species. Selene, captured during the genocide, awakens after more than a decade to find herself captive in a sealed laboratory at Antigen, a powerful biotech corporation dedicated to developing a vaccine against the viruses that have created the Vampires and Lycans.
Selene is heartbroken to discover that Michael is dead, but her grief is soon overshadowed by the shock of her discovery that, while in a cryogenically frozen state, she has given birth to his daughter, Eve (India Eisley). As she seeks asylum for herself and her child, Selene finds herself in a world in which her once proud people have been hunted nearly to extinction and the few survivors hide underground.
Shunned by the remaining clans, Selene enlists the support of a young Vampire, David (Theo James), who joins her in a bloody vendetta against Antigen, where shadowy forces conspire to destroy both her and her child. With their traditional enemies, the Lycans, once again in ascendance, even Selene seems powerless in the face of the most ferocious opponent in Underworld history, a genetically enhanced uber-Lycan.
About The Production
For the fourth installment of their mega-hit Underworld franchise, producers Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Richard Wright, and franchise creator Len Wiseman have taken the extraordinary risk of reinventing and reinvigorating an already hugely successful, internationally acclaimed property. The filmmakers have transported their Vampire and Lycan characters into a contemporary, human-dominated world in which they are hunted to near extinction, adding the excitement of cutting edge 3D technology into the mix.
With other commitments pending, including helming the upcoming remake of Total Recall, franchise creator Len Wiseman chose not to direct the film, but was on hand as a producer and provided the inspiration for the extraordinary storyline. “Len imagined a scenario where Selene and Michael have created a child,” says Gary Lucchesi, president of Lakeshore Entertainment. “That was the starting point for this movie. It would have been impossible to make such a good movie without Len’s contribution. He was involved in everything from production design to writing the script and casting the film.”
Kate Beckinsale, who starred in the first two installments of the Underworld saga, once again returns as the Vampire Death Dealer Selene, who escapes a lengthy imprisonment to discover that humans have almost successfully eradicated both the Vampire and Lycan clans.
“This is a continuation of the story that ended in Underworld Evolution,” says David Coatsworth, executive producer of the film. “Putting Selene into the context of a modern world and having her interact with humans is one of the two big new elements. The second is the discovery that she’s the mother of a teenage daughter. It brings a whole new twist to the evolution of Selene and sets up the possibility of continuing on into the future.”
Kate Beckinsale as Selene in Underworld: Awakening.
Set 15 years after the conclusion of Underworld Evolution, Underworld Awakening adds new characters and new rules to the story. “I think the hardcore fans are going to find a more action-packed and, to a certain degree, more violent Underworld than they’ve seen before,” says Lucchesi. “Selene’s rougher in this movie than she’s ever been. She’s capable of greater violence. It’s a very strong dramatic story and extremely well-acted. We’ve set a high bar with the earlier films and I think the audience will find this really intriguing.”
The updates take the story out of its mythological past and place it squarely in the world of the science-fiction action thriller. “It doesn’t take place in our past or present or future,” says Richard Wright of Lakeshore. “It takes place in its own version of all three of those temporal periods.”
With series stalwart Wiseman unavailable to direct, the filmmakers launched an extensive search for someone to take the helm of the new production. “We considered a number of young filmmakers who had demonstrated an interest in the Underworld franchise,” says Lucchesi. “That group included a team of Swedish directors, Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein . They had co-directed a really interesting film called Storm, which seemed to us to have been heavily influenced by Underworld.”
“We could see from watching their earlier movie that they understood how the heroine was set up, the way that the film was shot, the camera movements, the color palette, everything,” says Wright. “Then they gave us a very detailed presentation book that showed us what they thought the movie should look like. It was obvious these guys were going to bring a lot to the party.”
Marlind and Stein, who have previously directed separately as well as together, have known each other since they were children. They have developed an uncanny connection that allows them to work most effectively in tandem, with each directing on alternate days. “We flip a coin the day before the shoot, says Stein. “Usually Mans wins, which is not necessarily a win. If you win the coin toss, you have to direct the first day, and first day is always chaos.
“When Mans is directing, I’m ‘best buddy,’” he continues. “I’m always next to him, supporting him. He runs the show and makes all the decisions about the actors, the camera, everything. I’m there to handle questions about anything that’s not immediately urgent, whether it’s casting, production design, visual effects or anything else.”
Directing on alternate days gives the pair what they feel is an enormous advantage. “We each have time to recharge and prepare for the upcoming day,” says Marlind. “When you don’t have to put out fires all day long, you can be clear headed and think more about the big picture.”
As unorthodox as their method sounds, the film’s actors and producers solidly endorse the result. “I don’t know how I’m going to go back to having one director,” says Beckinsale. “By trading off, they are able to stay incredibly excited to have their turn. They never get burned out. I’m married to a director, so I realize that it’s such a miserably nonstop job. There are always 50 people asking you questions. With a partner to answer those questions, the one who’s directing can stay focused on the actors and the shot at hand.”
The directors were well aware of all the work that been done to create the series through the previous three installment and had the utmost respect for the franchise. “The films are based in a strong, interesting and well-developed mythology, which is why we’ve always been fans,” says Marlind. “Here we are dealing with universal themes like love, survival and death. We take that part of it seriously, but there is so much cool stuff going on that it never becomes pretentious. The series is distinguished by a good mix of performances and visual style, which is something we like. We don’t see ourselves as just visual directors or just acting directors. We love both.”
The pair’s primary concern, says Stein, was being able to bring new, compelling elements to the screen while preserving the best of the past. “We jumped into it because it was such a good script,” says Stein. “The concept of the film itself actually deviates slightly from the earlier movies, so we are walking a fine line. Underworld Awakening is not today, it’s not set in our world. That has been challenging because we’ve had to create a new world, while keeping the Underworld stamp on it and staying true to the franchise.
“We talked a lot with Len Wiseman and he was very helpful in setting up guidelines for what’s cool and what’s not cool in terms of the Underworld mythos,” he continues. “All these new situations are presented in a totally different environment, and we had to make a lot of decisions on the fly as well, which was fun.”
The timeless archetypes of werewolves and Vampires remain. “The Vampire is the sexy, dark side of all of us,” says Marlind. “But we also have the werewolf side which is the destructive force.”
The biggest difference is in the balance of power, according to Stein. “The Vampires are underdogs for the first time, so they become a minority that you root for,” says the director. “They can kill a man easily, but they can’t kill mankind. I think what’s exciting for fans is that we are taking another step deeper into the mythology that will expand the universe.”
Directed by: Mans Marlind, Björn Stein
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Michael Ealy, India Eisley
Screenplay by: Kevin Grevioux, John Hlavin, Danny McBride, Len Wiseman
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and gore, and for some language.
Studio: Sony ScreenGems
Release Date: January 20th, 2012
