'Underworld: Blood Wars' Delayed To 2017

The Lycans and the vampires will have to wait a little longer for their next showdown. Screen Gems has pushed Underworld: Blood Wars out of the 2016 Halloween season and all the way into 2017. The fifth installment in the action horror franchise is directed by Anna Foerster (Starz' Outlander). Kate Beckinsale once again stars as vampire Selene, and Theo James returns from Underworld: Awakening as David. 

Originally slated for October 14, 2016, Underworld: Blood Wars will now open January 6, 2017. It'll be up against Amityville: The Awakening, which has been delayed multiple times before, and Doug Liman and Tom Cruise's drug thriller Mena. The following week (January 13) brings Monster Trucks, Friday the 13th, Ben Affleck's Live by Night, and the historical drama Hidden Figures. No reason was given for the change. While the Halloween season might seem like a better fit for Blood Wars than the doldrums of January, this is actually pretty normal for the Underworld series. The original Underworld opened in September, but all the others have been January releases.

Shooting on Underworld: Blood Wars began last fall with a script by Cory Goodman. Details are still under wraps, but we know Tobias Menzies (Outlander, Game of Thrones) fame will play a "formidable new Lycan leader" and Lara Pulver (Sherlock) will be "a fiercely ambitious vampire." Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) reprises his role as vampire elder Thomas. James Faulkner, Peter Andersson, Bradley James, Daisy Head, and Clementine Nicholson also star.

There's been speculation that Underworld: Blood Wars could mark Beckinsale's last time leading as Selene, with James' David taking over as the new franchise lead. Indeed, there was even talk at one point that Beckinsale might not return at all for this film. But that turned out not to be true, obviously, so you should take the Theo James rumor with a grain of salt too.

The first four Underworld movies have collectively grossed $457 million worldwide (not counting for inflation). That may seem like peanuts compared to the billions earned by the Fast and Furious or Marvel series, but the Underworld films are also much cheaper – their past budgets have topped out around $70 million, although we don't know how much Blood Wars costs to make.