Underworld: Blood Wars has been delayed from an October 2016 release to a January 2017 debut.
Underworld 5 initially had a spooky release a few weeks ahead of Halloween, but it has since been delayed for three months, according to Variety.
The fifth installment of the werewolves-versus-vampires franchise will star Kate Beckinsale as Selene and Theo James as David, who debuted in the fourth movie, Underworld: Awakening.
Beckinsale and James will be joined by Trent Garrett (Hybrid Michael), Tobias Menzies (Marius), Lara Pulver (Semira), Clementine Nicholson (Lena), Bradley James (unknown) and Charles Dance (Thomas). Anna Foerster will make her directorial debut, also claiming the bragging rights of being the first woman to direct a movie in the Underworld franchise.
The plot for the film is currently unknown, though some of the casting announcements give us clues as to which direction the team will be taking the next chapter of the franchise. Menzies is a Lycan leader, whereas Nicholson and Pulver will be playing vampires. Bradley James will play the film’s villain, and Dance will return as an elder vampire.
Filming began in October and wrapped in December, lasting just 10 weeks. They shot in Prague, Czech Republic. No reason was given for the delay, though there are plenty of reasons why a film’s release date could be postponed. In this case, since post-production is underway, it may be because they needed more time for special effects. Alternatively, January is a bit of a dead zone for films, so if the studio isn’t particularly confident in a movie, they may relegate it to early in a year, rather than October, its initial date, which could be put to better use.