As Frosty loves to say, when it has a release date, it's going to be made. For Sony's Underworld: Awakening, Warner Bros. Seventh Son, Lionsgate's The Possession, and Universal's The Five-Year Engagement, things are looking bright. Briefly, Kate Beckinsale will return for the fourth film in the Underworld franchise, this time in 3D. Seventh Son is an adaptation of a popular young adult wizardry novel series that stars Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, and Julianne Moore. Sam Raimi's upcoming horror film The Possession (formerly known as Dibbuk Box) stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick. Finally, we have The Five-Year Engagement, which reunites Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller from their great partnership on Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Here is when you can pencil (release dates shift... a lot) each of these films into your calendar:

  • Underworld: Awakening - 1/20/12 - Stars Kate Beckinsale and Michael Ealy
  • Seventh Son - 02/15/13 - Stars Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, and Ben Barnes
  • The Possession - 1/6/12 - Stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick
  • The Five-Year Engagement - 4/27/12 - Stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt

For more on the pics, hit the jump.

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First on the list is something we will have a lot more information on soon. Underworld: Awakening will appear at Comic-Con on Friday in Hall H at 1:30, with Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, Len Wiseman, and directors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein. As mentioned before the jump, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures have pegged the film to a January 20th, 2012 release. The installment will also mark the first time the franchise will appear in 3D. As for the story, it follows Selene (Beckinsale), “who escapes imprisonment to find that humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.” The January 20th release date is currently shared with director Steven Soderbergh's actioner Haywire starring Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Fassbender. Daniel Radcliffe's horror/thriller The Woman in Black is also slated to hit theaters on the 20th.

Seventh Son will also appear Friday at Comic-Con, though the Legendary Pictures panel will focus on their pre-production lineup as a whole. You can find stars Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, and Jeff Bridges in Room 6BCF at 12:45 discussing the film with director Sergei Bodrov. While another wizard-oriented young adult series seems yawn worthy, the cast should garner some notice. However, the really interesting component for myself is Dobrov. He is best known for directing the excellent Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan and I can't wait to see what he brings to the film. The film, which is currently the sole inhabitant of the February 15th, 2013 release weekend, will be based on Joseph Delaney's first book in the series, Revenge of the Witch, and the synopsis is below [from Amazon]:

For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried–some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He’s the last hope; the last apprentice.

Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook’s warning against girls with pointyshoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county…?

Deadline confirms the January 6th, 2012 release date for Lionsgate/Sam Raimi's The Possession, a date it currently owns to itself. Formerly known as Dibbuk Box, the film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick as an ex-husband and wife who join forces to help rid their daughter of a curse she received from an antique box.

As for Universal's The Five-Year Engagement, we picked up the release date of April 27th, 2012 thanks to Box Office Mojo. The comedy seems primed to be a hit (and currently lacks any competition on its opening weekend), with Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, and Rhys Ifans filling out the cast. One can only hope that the reuniting of Segel and director Stoller can capture the same spark that ignited Forgetting Sarah Marshall. We also have a brief synopsis below:

The director and writer/star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall reteam for the irreverent comedy The Five-Year Engagement.  Beginning where most romantic comedies end, the new film from director Nicholas Stoller, producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Rodney Rothman (Get Him to the Greek) looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.  The film was written by Segel and Stoller.

As always, keep checking back for more on these films and any others. Additionally, if you look forward to hearing more about Seventh Son and Underworld: Awakening, make sure you check out our extensive coverage of Comic-Con later this month.