It’s official: Kate Beckinsale is returning to the world of vampires and werewolves, closing a deal to reprise her role as vampire heroine Selene in Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment’s fourth installment of the “Underworld” movie series.
A search for a director is currently under way, as well as an actress to portray Selene’s daughter.
Production is set to start in March 2011 in Vancouver.
John Hlavin wrote the script, which underwent revisions by comics writer and “The Changeling” scribe J. Michael Straczynski.
The first “Underworld,” released in 2003, made Beckinsale into a headliner and launched a profitable franchise that has grossed more than $300 million worldwide, with movies costing less then $35 million to make.
Beckinsale, repped by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, returned for the sequel, 2006’s “Underworld: Evolution,” but did not take part in 2009’s “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.” Her return was speculated among the fan community for months.
Lakeshore Entertainment’s Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi and Len Wiseman are producing the new movie.
