The horror series “Underworld” depicts the eternal war between vampires and Lycans, a human variant of werewolves. The first film, released in 2003, introduced viewers to the dark underworld of vampires and werewolves, complete with constant gunfights and murder, which continues throughout the series. The dispersed timeline spanning ages interests viewers and necessitates close attention to fully comprehend the films. Each new installment of the series discloses a past secret that informs the current plot.
The prologue of the entire series, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” was released in 2009 and depicts the eternal vampires – Lycans war. Kate Beckinsale plays Selene, a vampire death dealer who plays the major part and grows in popularity with each sequel release. Except for “Underworld: Blood Wars,” which was released in 2017, Len Wiseman was a co-writer on all of the films, and he also directed the first two, “Underworld” in 2003 and “Underworld: Evolution ” in 2006. Despite harsh reviews from critics, the series acquired a significant fan base and grossed $539 million at the box office against a combined budget of $207 million.
Underworld: The First Movie Released in 2003, Explained
The movie commenced on a rainy night when two Vampires, known as Death Dealers, are seen monitoring a pair of Lycans on the street below. The Death Dealers, Selene, and Rigel expertise in tracking and assassinating the immortal, ancient species of Lycans. Selene, among them, is further interested in slaughtering the Lycans as she considered them responsible for destroying her family in her childhood. The Lycans realized that they were being targeted and retaliated by firing machine guns. During the chaos of the shooting, Selene realized that the tracked Lycans were, in fact, following a human, Michael Corvin, which was very unusual. Selene fought back, forcing the Lycans to retreat, and Selene followed them and found their lair, where she heard strange howling. She returned to Vampire Coven’s mansion and reported everything but the Vampire regent Kraven did not pay any attention. But Selena secretly continued her investigation about the Lycans and the reason they were following a human.
Meanwhile, in the underground lair of the Lycans, a scientist, Singe, was busy experimenting with the kidnapped descendants of the Corvinus family to find a pure source of powerful Corvinus blood. While investigating, Selena broke into Michael’s apartment, and suddenly the Lycans attack them, and their leader Lucian bit Michael on the shoulder. They escaped the attack with each other’s help and returned to the Vampire mansion, where Kraven’s angry words made Selene suspect whether Lucian was truly dead six centuries ago. A servant named Erica discovered Lycan’s bite on Michael’s shoulder and threw him out of the mansion.
Selene continued her investigation and, in the library, found an ancient book where she learned about the secrets of the Vampires. She also recognized the pendant Lucian was wearing to realize that powerful Lucian was still alive. Consequently, she awakened the powerful Vampire Elder Viktor, thinking that he would help her. But Victor was outraged at being awakened ahead of his scheduled time, and Vampire Elder Amelia ordered Selena to be locked away. But Erika released Selena, hoping that she would leave Coven and stop being her competitor for Kraven’s love.
Selene fled to meet Michael, but a shootout distracted her, and the Lycans kidnapped Michael. Subsequently, Selene kidnapped the Lycan scientist Singe and took him to Coven, where he admitted to Viktor that he had been experimenting with the bloodlines to create a powerful Hybrid. In the meanwhile, a surprise attack by the Lycans murdered Amelia and other Vampire Council, all of which was set up by Kraven. Infuriated, Viktor killed Singe, instructed Selene to kill Michael to be forgiven for her past mistake of awakening him, and set out to seek retribution from Kraven.
Meanwhile, Michael, who was captivated in the Lycan’s lair, learned that Viktor had killed Lucian’s Vampire bride Sonja to prevent intermixing of the two ancient bloodlines, leading to war between the Vampires and Lycans. The Vampires attacked the Lycan’s lair, but Kraven fled from Viktor only after shooting Lucian with the silver nitrate bullet, which was invented by the Vampires, especially for the Lycans. Selene, though she had entered with the Vampires, left the group to find Michael. The jealous Kraven shot Michael too, and Lucian, before death, requested Selene to bite Michael so that his blood would have both Vampire and Lycan strains.
Kraven informed Selene that Viktor had killed her family and not the Lycans, and he was also responsible for killing his daughter Sonja, which had triggered the perpetual war between the two ancient clans. Viktor attacked Michael, but he successfully muted into Lycan – Vampire Hybrid, and while Viktor was strangling him, Selene killed Viktor by slicing his head with her sword. Selene and Michael left the lair to escape the attacks of the remaining Vampires. Back in the Vampire’s mansion, blood from the Singe’s dead body seeped through the floor and reached the tomb of the slumbering Vampire Elder, Marcus Corvinus, who awakened with black eyes, indicating that the two bloodlines had mingled to transform Marcus into a robust Hybrid.
The movie didn’t quite generate a positive response from the critics, but generating the complex vampire-werewolf mythology was highly appreciated by the general public. The story and special effects won high appraisal, too. Scott Speedman’s career accelerated with his role as Michael Corvin, for which he also won a Saturn Award.
Underworld: Evolution – The Second Movie Released in 2006, Explained
The movie is set in 1202 A.D. when an army under the leadership of three Vampire Elders, Viktor, Amelia, and Marcus Corvinus, arrived at a devastated village where the werewolves attacked erupting a terrible, bloody war between them. During the tumult, Viktor and Amelia captured William, Marcus’s twin brother, and the first most potent werewolf. Viktor commanded that William be imprisoned far away from Marcus in a secret location, never to be found.
The story then continued from the prequel where Selene took Hybrid Michael to a safe place, hoping to return to the Vampire Mansion to kill Kraven and avenge the death of Vampire Elder Amelia. Meanwhile, Marcus, who had already transformed into a Hybrid, destroyed everything to avenge Viktor and tried to track Selene and Michael. When Marcus confronted Selene, she admitted her to her role in Viktor’s murder, and Marcus agreed to her actions though he believed that Selene was shielding some fact and attacked her. Michael saved Selene and prevented Marcus from getting hold of Lucian’s pendant, which was in their possession. Michael and Selene escaped and took shelter in an abandoned warehouse while Marcus took refuge in a stable to recover.
In the meantime, an elder leader, Lorenz Macaro, was seen sending a team of Cleaners to investigate the battle between the Vampires and Lycans in the Lycan lair. Cleaners were a secret society of men whose function was to stop any conflict between the immortal races and to conceal any proof of their existence from humanity. Macaro found a pendant just below the ribs of Viktor’s dead body identical to Sonja’s pendant, which Selene and Michael possessed. Eventually, Michael and Selene decided to unveil the truth behind the pendant and tracked Andreas Tanis, who was a Vampire historian exiled by Selene. On compelling, Tanis told them that Marcus and not Viktor was the first Vampire though Viktor, till date, had maintained the impression that he was the eldest Vampire. Marcus and William were twin sons of Alexander Corvinus.
William was bitten by a wolf and mutated into a werewolf, and Marcus was bitten by a bat, becoming the foremost Vampire. William and the werewolves were highly destructive, and they did not even possess the power of taking human form as required. To control the ruination of William and the werewolves, Marcus approached the old warlord Viktor to track and capture William in return for being converted to immortal Vampire. Marcus only wanted to capture William and tame him, but Viktor betrayed him and locked William away, thus assuming the most powerful Vampire role as both Marcus and William were in hibernation.
He did not slaughter the brothers as he was afraid that their death would lead to the extinction of all Vampires and Lycans. Tanis also disclosed that Selene’s father was the architect of the prison where William was imprisoned, and Sonje’s pendant was the key to the prison. Eventually, Viktor had killed Selene’s family as they knew Viktor’s secrets and converted Selene into a Vampire. Tanis then mentioned Lorenz Macaro as he would help Selene to stop Marcus. After they left, Marcus arrived there and bit Tanis to gain his memory and thereafter killed him.
Selene and Michael approached Lorenz in his hideout ship Sancta Helena, but Selene realized that he was none other than Alexander Corvinus, the father of Marcus and William and the oldest immortal. Alexander confessed that he and his team of Cleaners were responsible for eliminating any traces of Vampire-Lycan conflict from mankind, but he refused to kill Marcus as he was his son.
Suddenly Marcus attacked the ship, slaughtered Michael, wounded Selene, and drank her blood to obtain the location of William’s prison and wounded Alexander. He procured the pendant, which was the key to the prison, and declared his intention to become a God and rule the Hybrids. With Alexander’s guidance, Selene drank his blood to become powerful enough to stop Marcus and William.
Selene and the remaining Cleaners were ensued in a terrible battle with Marcus, William, and their army. Selene was about to lose when suddenly Michael, whose dead body was in a bag, regenerated. Being a powerful Hybrid, he killed William while Selene was able to kill Marcus. Selene’s eyes turned from blue to white and then blued again, confirming her transformation that Alexander wanted, and she was able to withstand sunlight. The movie concluded with Selene expressing her fear that dark days were ahead, but the light had brought new hope to her.
Like its prequel, this movie, too, was not received well by the critics, but the audience enjoyed the movie so much that it became a blockbuster. Hundreds of fans waited patiently for hours to catch a glimpse of Kate Beckinsale and the other movie stars in the previewing. The movie was released on January 20, 2006, and by March, it had grossed $111.3 million worldwide with $62 .3 million in the United States alone.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans – The Third Movie Released in 2009, Explained
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, though the third sequel of the series, chronologically was the first movie revealing the facts that led to the Vampire-Lycan war. The film’s timeline started in 1402 when a werewolf mother captured by Vampire Elder Viktor gave birth to a human baby. The baby, named Lucian, was the first Lycan responsible for an immortal clan of werewolves who were able to take human form. With Lucian, Viktor visualized a clan of werewolf slaved who would protect the Vampires in the daylight. Lucian grew old and became a blacksmith in the Vampire Coven. Eventually, Viktor’s daughter Sonja and Lucian started liking each other.
Once Sonja, who was patrolling outside the walls of the Corvinus Castle, was attacked by the werewolves, but Lucian quickly arrived there and saved her by killing the werewolves. Viktor noticed Lucian’s liking for his daughter and humiliated him about his low position in the Coven. Late at night, Sonja and Lucian met secretly to discuss their future when Lucian disclosed the key he had made, which will open the collar that enslaved him and the other Lycans. He requested Sonja to escape with him, but Sonja warned him about being hunted down by the Death Dealers and asked him not to use the key. Neither of them was aware that another Vampire was observing them and knew about their secrets.
The human population outside the Castle was protected from the wrath of the werewolves by Viktor against a tax. Once, such a human family of nobles visited the Castle to pay the tithe when Sonja decided to protect them from the werewolves despite the severe warning from her father and Lucian. After Sonja left, Lucian became aware of the werewolves in the woods where Sonja had gone.
He stole a horse and sword from a Death Dealer and hurried to save Sonja, and a fierce battle erupted in the wood between the werewolves and Lucian along with some Vampires. They were almost captured by the wolves when Lucian decided to transform into a Lycan to save themselves. The werewolves retreated following his howl, but he was shot by the Death Dealers. Back in the Castle, Viktor whipped Lucian fifty times to punish him for opening his collar and locked him away for the rest of his life.
Inside the prison, Lucian met another slave who was also quite powerful and learned that his name was Raze. When Sonja came to meet him, Lucian told him that Vampire Andreas Tanis was aware of their relationship, and she was ready to let them meet in private in exchange for a seat in the Council. Sonja informed Lucian that Viktor would execute him the next day and he should run away from the Castle at sunrise while she would meet him after three days. Meanwhile, Viktor started the process of converting the human to Lycans and began enslaving them.
When they were sent back to their cells, Raze tried to convince them to revolt against Viktor. Tanis provided Lucian with the key to the prison, and the next morning Lucian escaped from the jail while freeing other Lycans too. Lucian and a few Lycans reached the woods safely and decided to free the remaining Lycans from the Castle with the help of the wild werewolves. Soon he became worried about Sonja not arriving on time, and Sonja’s friend informed him that she had been imprisoned by Viktor.
Lucian arrived at the Castle to rescue Sonja, but they were confronted by Viktor and the Death Dealers. Sonja requested her father to let them go as she was carrying Lucian’s child, but it infuriated Viktor immensely, and he put Sonja and Lucian in prison. Sonja was sentenced to death by the Council and was burned alive by the sunlight. At night when Viktor painfully retrieved Sonja’s pendant, an enraged Lucian transformed into a Lycan, snatched the locket from Viktor, and tried to escape only to get impaled by arrows. He summoned the wild werewolves and the freed Lycans who attacked and captured Coven following a terrible battle.
Viktor and some of the Vampires tried to escape through the prisons, but Lucian followed them, pierced the sword through Viktor’s mouth and head while his body splashed into the water. As Lucian declared victory, Tanis led Viktor’s living body into a hibernation chamber in a ship while the Vampires and the werewolves were still engaged in fighting. The movie ended with the opening scene of the first “Underworld” movie where Kraven told Selene that Viktor and not Lycans had slaughtered her family while she was kept alive as she reminded Viktor of his daughter Sonja. Selene did not believe it and called it, “Lies.”
“Underworld: The rise of the Lycans” received a higher positive response from critics than its prequels, and no wonder on its opening weekend, the film became number one at the box office. Apart from Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy as Viktor was praise-worthy too. The film answers all the questions arising from the first two movies about the eternal conflict between the Vampires and the Lycans.
Underworld: Awakening – The Fourth Sequel Released in 2012, Explained
The events of “Underworld: Awakening” occur six months after the second film, “Underworld: Evolution,” where human beings became aware of the existence of Vampires and Lycans and started their mass extermination, during which Vampire Selene was captured. She was held in cryogenic suspension, which was a chamber in the headquarters of medical corporation Antigen, where subjects are preserved for study and experimenting. Antigen supposedly was involved in inventing an antidote to the virus that created Vampires and Lycans. After twelve years, Selene managed to escape from Antigen and started having visions which led her to meet a fellow Vampire, David, and the visions also led her to a young girl Eve who is later discovered to be Michael and Selene’s daughter. David took them to his Coven, but they were not welcomed by David’s father, Thomas, who held Selene responsible for the destruction of the Vampire clan.
Dr. Jacob Lane, the director of Antigen, and his son Quint were actually Lycans, and the experimental antidote was to enhance the immunity of Lycans against the deadly effect of silver. Eve’s hybrid genetic code was required for a successful experiment, and thus, Lane sent Quint and other Lycans to abduct Eve. Many Vampires were killed in the process, and Quint got transformed into a gigantic “super Lycan” using Eve’s blood, defeating Selene, severely wounding David, and capturing Eve. Selene saved David by using her immortal blood, which she had received from Alexander Corvinus in “Underworld: Evolution.”
Selene approached Detective Sebastian, who was trying to investigate the occurrences of Antigen, to help her save Eve, and he concurred to do so. Selene demolished a part of Antigen headquarters with explosives forcing Dr. Lane to remove Eve from the building for conducting an operation on her to prepare the antidote. Meanwhile, Selene found Michael frozen in one of the Cryogenic chambers and helped him escape.
Dr. Lane, escaping in a van with Eve, was stopped by Detective Sebastian and Selene, but Quint arrived on the spot in his super Lycan form and encountered Selene. Eve somehow managed to unbind herself from the van and joined the fight. She took upon Dr. Lane, who tried to transform himself to the super Lycan form with the same injection used on Quint. Sebastian and David joined Eve to confront Dr. Lane, and finally, Eve killed Dr. Lane by ripping his throat.
Selene intelligently hid in a small chamber compelling Quint to revert back to human form when Selene forced an activated silver-based grenade on Quint, making him explode. Eventually, Selene and others desperately looked for Michael, but there was no trace of him. Selene promised to find Michael and take back the world from humans and Lycans to reclaim the Vampire empire.
“Underworld: Awakening “is all about action fan club as it hardly offers any storytelling making it rather inconsequential in the Underworld series, especially after its prequel, which had a powerful storyline. The film was one of the first films shot exclusively in Red Epic 3D digital cameras for the impact of the highly successful combat scenes, turning it into the highest-grossing movie of the series.
Underworld: Blood Wars – The Fifth Sequel Released in 2016, Explained
The plot reveals that Selene was being targeted by both the Vampires and Lycans. The Lycans, under the leadership of powerful Marius, needed her to locate her daughter whose blood could transform Lycans into vigorous Hybrids while the Vampires wanted to avenge the deaths of their former leaders, Viktor and Marcus Corvinus. Selene had only David and his father Thomas as her trustworthy allies.
Thomas approached the Eastern Coven of the Vampires with a proposal of amnesty, where the leader Semira agreed to shelter them if Selene decided to train their young and inexperienced Death Dealers with her combat skills. The Council Members granted the proposal, and Selene arrived at Eastern Coven with David, where they were honored with a grand reception. Selene started training the Death Dealers when Vampire Varga, who was also Semira’s lover, poisoned Selene and killed the trainees, framing her for the slaughter. Semira, who pretended the clemency, in reality, wanted to avenge Viktor’s death and started draining Selene’s blood intending to drink it and gain Selene’s power. In an attempt to rescue Selene, Thomas and David confront Semira and Varga, where Thomas was killed while David and Selene managed to flee.
Selene and David took shelter at the Nordic Coven ruled by Vampire Elder Vidar, who disclosed the fact that David was the son of Thomas and deceased Vampire Elder Amelia, making him the legitimate heir to the Eastern Coven. Selene and David were pursued by Alexia from Eastern Coven as instructed by Semira, but she was also the secret lover of Marius, hence revealing to him the location of Selene in Nordic Coven. Marius and his Lycans attacked Nordic Coven confronting Selene, David, and the Nordic Vampires led by Vidar’s daughter Lena. Marius in werewolf form was too powerful for Selene, and further, she was stabbed by Alexia. Marius demanded Eve’s location, but Selene replied that she had no clue where Eve was. When Alexia tasted her blood to retrieve the blood memory, she ascertained that Selene was telling the truth. Infuriated, Marius shot Selene as she slid underneath the ice.
Back in Eastern Coven, Semira drank Selene’s blood after purifying it from the poison and began to transform. Alexia returned to the Coven and narrated the occurrences in Nordic Coven, but she was killed by Semira for her treachery against the Vampire clan. Meanwhile, David returned to Eastern Coven demanding his rightful inheritance, which was supported by the Council as well as Varga, while Semira was imprisoned. Eventually, Marius and his clan attacked Eastern Coven, and David, while fighting, faced the powerful Marius when Selene suddenly appeared and engaged herself in the fierce battle. Later, it was revealed that she had been resurrected by the Nordic Coven after some rituals, thus receiving new powers and increased speed.
She continued slaying the Lycans allied by the Nordic Vampires led by Lena while making her way through the Castle. While Semira escaped and confronted David, Selene and Marius continued their combat when a drop of Marius’s blood fell on Selene’s mouth. Instantly she recalled the blood memory revealing Marius capturing Michael Corvinus and slitting his throat to consume his blood. To enhance her fury Selene bit her own wrist to recall the pleasant moments she had spent with Michael, Eve, and David, and with the fist of fury, she ripped out the spine of Marius. David also managed to kill Semira, and when he displayed the severed head of Marius, the Lycans retreated, thus ending the fierce, bloody war. In the aftermath, Selene, David, and Lena were chosen as the new Vampire Elders. Selene, after her resurrection at the Nordic Coven, was reunited with her daughter Eve, who had used a telepathic link to stay connected and, in the end, was seen approaching her mother, Selene.
The film, directed by Anna Foerster was released on November 24, 2016, in different countries and January 6, 2017, in the United States and was the least-grossing film of the franchise. It is surprising that Kate Beckinsale had turned down the role of Selene at first, but on repeated request, she reconsidered and eventually became the major attraction of the series with a huge fan club. The film received a mixed response from the critics while grabbing a B+ grade on the audience poll. Apart from Kate, Theo James as David and Lara Pulver as Semira were highly praised for their performances.
Future of the Franchise
Len Wiseman, the leading name behind the Underworld series, in a 2014 interview disclosed that apart from “Underworld: Blood Wars,” a sixth film was also under development, but its production will only be considered on the box- office success of Blood Wars. Unfortunately, Blood War fetched the least in the box – office compared to its prequels, and it did not evoke as much enthusiasm as the other movies of the series. Moreover, Kate Beckinsale, the leading protagonist of the series, expressed her serious concerns about the future of the sixth sequel while she herself is uncertain about coming back in the series. Now that there is a gap of five years and the rumors of Underworld 2 are still dormant, Underworld fans are truly eager for some concrete announcements which are yet to be made.