"Death Dealers vs. Lycans" Is An 'Underworld' TV Series in the Works?

[Brian Damage]

With prequel film Underworld: Rise of the Lycans hitting theaters, franchise creator Len Wiseman has dropped hints about possibly continuing the "Death Dealers vs. Lycans" storyline through a TV series. Wiseman said this in a red carpet interview at the film's premiere:

"There's a lot of talk about a television series, I'm looking into that," he tells B-D exclusively, "if I could be very involved and can be a certain way, I'd be very interested in that." He continues, "We had always hoped to do a trilogy, now that we completed that trilogy it's kind of open, if people can join us and go back in time - and then leap forward, I'd like to go jump all across the time line."

Personally, I am not a "superfan" of all things Underworld. The franchise's basic premise of a "secret war between Vampires and Werewolves" seems to be a bit generic. However, the films do possess a stylish, sleek, and sexy atmosphere that has some value. While that atmosphere may leave you feeling the inexplicable inclination to buy your wardrobe at Hot Topic, go heavy on the eyeliner, listen to Evanescence on your heavily-stickered Nano, and think that popular music began with the Sisters of Mercy -- it has somehow created its own niche in a film market flooded with Matrix/John Woo wannabe's.

The question remains: Would Underworld make a good television show? Well, possibly. With the current success of Twilight, vampires are once again a fad for the first time since the heyday of Buffy. (Although I'm sure the recently failed vampire show, Moonlight takes little consolation from that.)

Now, this is probably not a franchise with die-hard nerd purists on the Internet, pointing out canonical inconsistencies, so they will have some leeway with which to work. However, a show like this would need flawed, but likable characters that have the potential to play an integral part of the overall story. It has to be something that would make one want to go back and watch the film trilogy all over again -- under the context that these characters played some kind of role in the shape of this universe.

Essentially, these characters have to matter. Take one look at Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to see how something like that can be pulled off in an effective, believable, and enthralling way.

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