Theo James is pretty busy with the Divergent series, but apparently he’s still got room for another franchise because it’s being reported that he’s attached to headline the fifth Underworld film.  James appeared in the fourth one, Underworld: Awakening, as a vampire named David who teams up with Selene (Kate Beckinsale) to take on the Lycans.

This new film isn’t an Underworld reboot as previously reported, but rather an effort to expand the universe the Selene-centered films already created.  It doesn’t seem as though Beckinsale will be involved in this iteration, but James will have two new female characters joining him.  Hit the jump for more.

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Just a couple of weeks ago we found out that Priest and The Last Witch Hunter scribe, Cory Goodman, has been hired to pen the script for Lakeshore Entertainment.  Minus David being the focus of the film alongside those two new female characters, we’ve got no clue what they’re doing with the narrative here.  Casting is currently underway for those other two roles and the film is expected to go into production in the spring.

Going from such a hot property like Divergent to something that is perhaps a little less desirable like Underworld might come as a surprise, but there’s a reason James took the gig.  According to THR, there was an option on him due to his involvement in Underworld: Awakening. 

However, even though Underworld may not be as big as Divergent, the franchise has held up well over the years.  In fact, every single installment has made more than $20 million opening weekend.  There is a good chance Beckinsale had a lot to do with that, but with James bound to become more and more popular as the Divergent franchise continues, there is a chance he could uphold those numbers.

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