8 Storylines for an Underworld TV Series

Film news often grinds my gears, as it seems to always be intertwined with celebrity gossip. With that said, back when I was writing for Digital Fox Media, another writer - Roxie Hill - shared the news that there was a possible Underworld TV Series in the works.

I’ve been a fan of the films for a couple of years now and have seen all of the films except for the fifth one – Blood Wars. Still, as a fan of the movies, I’d love to see a TV series come about for the franchise. We don’t know much information about the possible show yet, but here are some thoughts on what might happen in the Underworld TV series.

In particular, we look at the eight most exciting and realistic storylines.

1 - Kraven and Lucian's Deal

The first Underworld film introduced us to a plethora of characters; among them were Kraven – the current head of the vampires – and Lucian, the leader of the werewolves. Thanks to some snooping by film protagonist Selene, we know that Kraven was the sole surviving vampire to go into battle against Lucian at some point during the early days of the war. He supposedly killed Lucian, returning to his master, Viktor, with a piece of the werewolf pack leader’s branded skin as proof of his defeat.

We also know that Kraven’s a lying backstabber and a coward who made a deal with Lucian and presumably helped him fake his death in exchange for the Lycan elder’s aid in overthrowing the current vampire council and taking control.

Now, while the knowledge that the two made a deal is easily understood, it’s not quite clear how that deal came about. So, maybe they could try that as a prequel set after a prequel – so to speak. They could show the two sides gearing up for war, a number of large battles leading up to the siege on Lucian’s fortress, and concluding with Kraven and the werewolf clan making their deal.

2 - The Birth of Two Clans & Viktor's Human Life

In the opening scene of Underworld: Evolution we learn that the vampire and werewolf clans were the result of a viral infection of sorts. Two brothers, Markus and William, were bitten by a bat and a wolf respectively. Markus became the first vampire, and his brother the first werewolf.

Wouldn’t that be a cool thing to see? The human lives of two ancient supernatural beings right up to the days they turned.

This could also potentially tell Viktor’s story. What was he like as a human? Did he have a family? What happened with them? Was he a fair lord? You could go into a huge amount of detail on the relationship between Viktor and Markus and then possibly Viktor and Lucian’s relationship could also be covered.

3 - Lucian and Sonja

Now, before anyone points this out: Yes, we’ve gotten Lucian and Sonja’s story. It was, after all, the focal point of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Here’s the thing, though, we only got part of the story. We saw glimpses of Lucian and Sonja as teenagers, but the majority of the story of Rise of the Lycans was centred on their adult lives leading up to Sonja’s death and the start of the war.

I don’t know about you guys, but personally, I think it’d be very interesting to see these two characters grow up on screen. What sparked the attraction between them (other than good looks)? When did they start their ill-fated romance? Who else, other than Tanis (sneaky librarian dude), knew about the relationship?

See? There’s a lot of potential here, and it seems a waste to ignore it.

4 - Erika

Erika was a side character in Underworld and as such we don’t know much about her except that she’s got something of a rivalry with Selene over Kraven – don’t ask me why. I may have thought about this too much but Erika is probably one of the more memorable side characters (in my opinion) and a series with her as the focus would be very interesting.

The series could explain a lot about the character. How and when did she become a vampire? Was her transformation willing or unwilling? Who turned her? Is she in love with Kraven or is she just after his status?

So far the only backstory I’ve been able to find has been in various fan fictions posted online, and fan fiction isn’t canonical. Still, many of the fan fictions I’ve found have centred on a romance between Erika and Selene, which raises an interesting question: Who is the rivalry really about? Maybe Erika has a secret crush on Selene?

Speaking of Selene…

5 - Selene's Past Leading to Underworld

This seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? We heard Selene’s motive for why she became a vampire and why she hunts werewolves in the first Underworld film. We saw brief flashbacks to her past that revealed parts of her history. This is a great idea for a series. It can start with Selene’s childhood and progress through the construction of William’s prison, all the way through to the night her family was killed.

Alternatively, the series could focus on the early years of her vampire life, where she has to learn to deal with her supernatural speed and strength, adapt to the need for blood, and life in the darkness of the night.

Yet another alternative storyline could follow Selene as she gets used to life as a vampire elder after the events of Blood Wars (I had to find a plot synopsis for this info) and get to know Eve.

We can’t list Juliet on her own though. What about Selene’s Romeo?

6 - Michael Corvin's Past Leading to Underworld

Think about it, what do we really know about Michael Corvin – other than the fact that he’s crazy about Selene? That’s all we know about him. He’s in love with Selene and he used to work at a hospital.

We also know (once again thanks to Selene’s snooping in Underworld) that he had a girlfriend or wife before meeting his lady love of the series. Now, that relationship has been covered in the novelizations where the woman in the photos in Michael’s apartment is his wife who died.

Maybe the series could look into these ideas. Showing a bit of Michael’s life leading up to the events of Underworld would go a long way to developing his character. What were his parents like? Did he always want to be in the medical field? What was his wife/girlfriend like? How did she die? When/where did she die? How did Michael react to/deal with the loss?

Alternatively, the series could focus on Michael’s time between his escape from Antigen Labs at the end of Underworld: Awakening and his apparent death as shown in Blood Wars.

7 - The Purge

Underworld: Awakening begins with the existence of vampires and werewolves being discovered by humans, and all hell breaking loose as a result. The time period in which humans hunted vampires and werewolves referred to as ‘the purge’ could be a really cool storyline.

According to an article I found on Den of Geek, Len Wiseman said that the series will have less of a comic book tone to it. So if you’re going for a more serious tone for the series, why not detail the time before the purge? You could start off more or less where Underworld: Evolution ended documenting the years leading up to the purge and then show how humans discovered the supernatural world’s inhabitants and the devastation and terror that followed on all sides.

A series with this particular premise could also explore Michael and Selene’s characters further, leading up to Michael’s capture at the start of Awakening and then following through with the twelve years that follow before Selene escapes from Antigen Labs.

Now, I think it’s only fair to cover the last member of Selene and Michael’s family unit: Eve.

8 - Eve and Antigen Labs

Eve is Michael and Selene’s daughter; she was the one who helped Selene to escape from Antigen Labs in Underworld: Awakening.

Much like Erika, this character is very under developed and considering that the fourth film in the series is meant to be centred on her that’s a real shame. This character, by far, has the most possible stories.

Think about it: Eve is a hybrid. She’s not a werewolf and she’s not a vampire – she’s both. That means she probably has abilities that vampires and werewolves don’t have. She could be the Underworld version of Peter Parker. The series could focus on Eve’s childhood in Antigen Labs being a test subject for their experiments.

It could also go a different route and focus on the time between Awakening and Blood Wars, developing the relationship between Eve and Selene before her apparent disappearance for Blood Wars. On the flip side, it could do the opposite and focus on what happens with Eve during the fifth film and moving on to what happens after the two are reunited at the end of Blood Wars.

The series could also go with an “all of the above” style and do all of these storylines, but I don’t think the producers will do that.

Will we get an Underworld Series?

So, will we get an Underworld TV series? I don't know, but I really, really hope so. I'm sure there are many other storylines for the Underworld franchise, and maybe, just maybe we'll see a new entry to the series.

Whether it's a film or a TV series, I hope we get the practical effects that we got in the original films. With all that said, what do you guys think? Will we get an Underworld TV series? What do you guys think the storyline will be if we do get one?