Although it was the franchise that made her an action star, Kate Beckinsale is reportedly done with Underworld. Speaking to Variety, the British actress stated she won’t be suiting up as vampire heroine Selene again: “I wouldn’t return. I’ve done plenty of those”.
Beckinsale played the role in four out of the five movies in the series, beginning in 2003 and ending with 2016’s Underworld: Blood Wars. But the actress isn’t just stepping away from that franchise; she says she’s disillusioned with blockbuster filmmaking in general, calling working on some of those big films the worst experiences in her life:
“I’ve done indie movies where I’m sitting on a piece of folded carpet and it was wonderful. I’ve done great big movies that were the worst misery of my life. […] I started out in the indie space. I never anticipated doing one of those heavy-weight, very physical franchise things. It was scary to see myself on movie posters on the side of every single bus”.
Underworld franchise creator and director Len Wiseman is currently developing a TV series spin-off of the franchise.
As for Beckinsale, she will next be seen starring in Farming, portraying a working-class woman whose Nigerian-born foster child joins a skinhead gang. The film premiered at TIFF, and marks the directorial debut of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, an actor who drew on his own troubled youth for the movie.
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