An immensely gifted English actress who has proven to be one of the industry’s most versatile and charismatic performers, Kate Beckinsale returns in the fifth installment of the fan favorite sci-fi fantasy, Underworld: Blood Wars, where she reprises her role as the iconic action hero Selene.
Underworld: Blood Wars follows the next generation of Vampires and Lycans (a breed of Werewolves) and the war that continues to wage between the two species. In the film, Vampire Death Dealer Selene fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that has betrayed her. Aided by her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must end the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.
For Beckinsale’s character, the stakes have never been higher. “There’s been this longstanding feud between Vampires and Lycans but in Blood Wars, Selene’s very much disenfranchised from both factions,” the actress explains. “She’s not really part of the team of vampires anymore and she’s on the run from everyone. Selene’s tough and incredibly inventive about killing monsters and all of that, but her motivation has always been love. In Blood Wars, it’s the love for her daughter Eve that keeps Selene going.”
Blood Wars pushes Underworld mythology into exciting new realms while drawing on the strengths that continue to thrill fans 14 years after the series’ inception. “The thing that makes Underworld so successful is the fact that you’re immersed in this vampire world which is not real, and yet the drama between all these creatures is universal,” says direcor Anna Foerster. “I hope audiences are wowed by the action but I also hope people enjoy where Selene goes emotionally. After all this fighting and hardship, at the end she comes to a place where she has a new outlook on life. Selene is ultimately a tragic character, but if she can also evoke hope for audiences, then I think that’s a pretty big thing.”
Beckinsale expects Underworld: Blood Wars to satisfy a key expectation for fans of the franchise by showcasing Selene at her most warrior-like. “All sorts of horrible things happen to Selene but then she manages to dispatch everybody because she gets really pissed off,” the actress says. In between the fast and furious combat scenes, Underworld: Blood Wars offers a darkly thrilling cinematic vision of uncommon integrity.
“It’s difficult these days to get a genre movie of this type made if it’s not based on an existing comic book or video game or something like that,” Beckinsale muses. “Underworld is original, and given the fact that it also has a female lead there are a lot of reasons I feel really privileged to be one of those few women who gets to do this kind of movie. I think audiences like to see women taking names and kicking ass but I also think at this point, there’s a historical legacy element to Underworld that people find appealing.”
Opening across the Philippines on Friday, December 02, “Underworld: Blood Wars” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.
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