'Underworld: Blood Wars' release date, spoilers: new characters, female director highlight upcoming film

The fifth installment in the popular action horror film franchise, "Underworld" is coming to theaters early next year, with actress Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as the vampire death dealer, Selene. And with so much at stake, with a brewing war between the Vampires and Lycans, the sequel to the 2012 film "Underworld: Awakening" promises more blood.

Titled "Underworld: Blood Wars," the upcoming film will be featuring a new character in the person of a young child who in turn could be the critical factor in determining who wins the war that has been going on for thousands of years. According to iTech Post, this could mean that Selene might be facing someone or something that could threaten her like no one or nothing else has done before.

Aside from the prospect of a new character, the upcoming film is also stirring a lot of interest, thanks to a female director, Anna Foerster. While women directors are no longer a brand-new thing in Hollywood, the fact that this is the first time for this film franchise is sufficient enough to make "Underworld: Blood Wars" all the more intriguing.

The upcoming flick is Foerster's first ever feature film, but she didn't get the job without first sweating it out in the industry. In television, she is best known for directing several episodes of "Outlander." She also became part of the production of films like "The Day After Tomorrow," "Aeon Flux," and "Alien: Resurrection."

Meanwhile, a new trailer recently emerged for "Underworld: Blood Wars," wherein Selene's quest of finally putting an end to the Lycan war is teased, while also planning to hand out vengeance against the vampires who betrayed her, but it doesn't help her cause that the Lycans will have a new leader in Marius (Tobias Menzies), who makes it a point to eliminate Selene.

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The film is set to be released on Jan. 6, 2017.

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