Screen Gems has sent over 5 movie clips and 12 images for Underworld: Awakening, the fourth entry in the Vampires vs. Lycans franchise.  Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, “who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.”  Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, and Charles Dance also star; Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein directed the January 20, 2012 release.  While I’m under embargo from writing what I thought, I suggest watching my interview with Beckinsale from earlier today, as I may have said something on camera.

Click here for all our coverage on Underworld 4, including my set visit last year.  Hit the jump for the images and clips.

The theatrical trailer for Underworld: Awakening 3D has gone online. The fourth film in the Underworld franchise finds Kate Beckinsale’s Selene waking up to a world where humans have discovered the existence of vampires and werewolves and are working to eradicate both species. We get a better sense of the story here, as a young hybrid girl seems to be the key to the war between humans vs. vampires vs. werewolves. I’m not the biggest fan of the series, but it looks to have more of the action, effects, and blood-suckingness that permeated throughout the other films so fans should be appeased.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Be sure to check out all of Steve’s coverage of the film from his set-visit, including interviews with Beckinsale and directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein, as well as a full recap. Underworld: Awakening opens in 3D on January 20th, 2012.

Back in early May, I got to visit the set of Underworld: Awakening when the production was filming in Vancouver.  While on set, I got to participate in a group interview with directors Mans Marlind & Bjorn Stein.  Here’s some of the highlights:

• When they were starting out, they wanted to work together but they both liked the same aspects of filmmaking, so they decided to direct every second day. One would direct one day, and the other the next day, and whoever’s day off it is would just be the other director’s “best buddy,” there to help him on whatever he needs help on. The best buddy also deals with the producers and such while the other director is focused on the shoot.
• They say Underworld: Awakening is different from the other films in that it’s a more emotional story, and the look of the film is all them.
• Regarding comparisons to Twilight, they say Underworld has a completely different vibe than those films, it’s very dark. It’s a completely different vampire.
• Underworld: Awakening was the first time either of them had worked with a digital camera as opposed to film.
• What’s new about the 4th Underworld is “we’re bringing them into the real world because man now is a player. Before, it was just Lycans and vampires. It was really fun to bring the werewolves into downtown to see what would happen.”
• There’s a big car chase scene in the movie where the characters are being chased by Lycans through the middle of the city.

Hit the jump for the full interview.  They also talk about filming in 3D, the way they work together, how they got hired to do the movie, and a lot more.

Earlier this year, I got to visit the set of Underworld: Awakening while the production was filming in Vancouver.  While I’m embargoed for a few more days from writing about the visit, I’m putting the articles together in our backend and just pulled a ton of screengrabs from the teaser trailer that hit a few days ago.  Since Screen Gems has barely released any images from the 4th Underworld, after the jump you can check out 18 new ones.  I was able to get a few of the creatures, and a number of images of Kate Beckinsale.  For more on Underworld: Awakening, I suggest checking back on Monday morning.  Until then…

The first trailer for Underworld: Awakening has been released. The fourth film in the Underworld franchise features the return of Kate Beckinsale to the series as her character “escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.” If you liked the previous Underworld movies, it looks like you’ll be getting more of the same: blue filter, slow-mo fighting, Kate Beckinsale in a skin-tight black leather outfit.  I don’t much care for these movies and they only cause me to wonder if the director knows that the blue filter adds nothing to the movie.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. If you missed our Comic-Con coverage, check out Steve’s interviews with directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein, and producer Len Wiseman. Underworld: Awakening opens in 3D on January 20, 2012.

At this year’s Comic-Con, I had the chance to talk with Underworld: Awakening directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein.  Here’s a few of the highlights:

• The Comic-Con trailer will not be shown anywhere else.  They were committed to not show any Lycans at Comic-Con.  But there will be Lycans in the sequel, including several kinds that have never been seen before.
• Stein twice teases a “very important new character that will turn everything upside-down.”
• They are halfway through the editing process, which includes 750-800 effects shots to render in 3D.
• There is a 7-minute car chase that took five days to shoot and two-and-a-half weeks to edit.
• Stein and Marlind have a unique working relationship.  They switch roles every day: one person in charge, one person is the director’s “best buddy.”
• 3D changes how they film.  Because of the camera size, it’s harder to throw the camera over your shoulder for an aggressive shot.  But it has led Stein to pursue longer takes because the 3D looks better.
• The first trailer should be released soon.

Hit the jump to watch the full interview.  You can also watch my interview with Underworld producer Len Wiseman here.  We’re going to have a lot more Underworld coverage once the trailer is released.  Underworld: Awakening hits theaters in January.

The latest installment in the Underworld franchise, titled Underworld: Awakening, is headed to theaters soon and we got our first look at the film at today’s panel in Hall H. The 3D action-horror film stars Kate Beckinsale, with a script by franchise staple Len Wiseman. Hit the jump for my full recap of the panel, where we were treated to the first footage from the film (in 3D), a Q&A with the directors, and Wiseman addressed future entries in the Underworld franchise.

Underworld 4 has found its director(s).  Heat Vision reports that the Swedish team-up of Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein will take on directorial duties for the film.  Underworld 4 will mark the second English-language feature for the pair who also co-directed the 2009 UK thriller Shelter starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Showtime’s The Tudors).  Marlind and Stein will helm the project for Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment from a script by John Hlavin.  Multi-platform scribe J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling & one of my personal favorite comics, Rising Stars) performed rewrite duties for the film.

With the news of Marlind and Stein’s hiring in the bag, the fourth installment of the Underworld franchise continues to take shape.  Almost two months ago, we confirmed that Kate Beckinsale would return to her rightful place as the unequivocally bad-ass vampire warrior, Selene.   At that time we also reported that the film would begin production in Vancouver during March 2011, with a January 20th, 2012 release in mind.

With Mans Marlind & Bjorn Stein’s Shelter getting released in the UK on April 9, we’ve been provided with 8 clips from the film that stars Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.  The premise is Julianne Moore plays a Dr. that doesn’t believe in multiple personality disorders and Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays someone who has them.  The more she works with Rhys Meyers, the more she questions her beliefs and I’m sure it’s a guessing game as to whether or not he’s faking it.

With no scheduled release date in America, you have to wonder about the film…but I’m a fan of Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, so I hoping it’s good.  Hit the jump to watch 8 clips from the film and I’ve also provided the full synopsis:

With her booze-soaked, bravura performance in A Single Man and her upcoming turn as an Amanda Seyfried-obsessed wife in the “erotic thriller” Chloe, you may be feeling like you’ve been seeing a lot more of Julianne Moore these days. And just in case you thought the versatile actress had reached her quota of interesting projects for the year, the following trailer might come as a bit of a surprise. Shelter, a psychological thriller co-starring Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, actually wrapped production back in 2008. No firm US release date has yet been set for the film but UK audiences will get to see the magnificent Moore back in action as of April 9^th.  Trailer and synopsis after the jump.