All 6 Underworld Movies By Their Release Year

A tale of a war that has been raging on for centuries, between Vampires and an ancient species of werewolves, Lycans. The Underworld franchise beautifully portrays the tragic and heroic story of our main character Selene, charmingly played by Kate Beckinsale.

The Underworld movie franchise has gained a massive cult following throughout the years. So if you want to get into this epic tale of war between two factions or are looking to rewatch the series in the right order.

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Confused about which order to follow? Look no further, as this blog post includes the perfect order in which you can brush up for the action horror film sequence that will get you biting your nails.

Underworld Movies

All Underworld Movies In Order

  1. Underworld

    Streaming On: Netflix

    Director: Len Wiseman

    Writers: Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, Danny McBride

    Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Erwin Leder, Bill Nighy, Kyle Ward, Cory Goodman

    Genres: Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror

    Underworld (2003) on IMDb

    Directed by Len Wiseman, and starring Kate Beckinsale, Scottspeedman, Shane Brolly, and Michael Sheen, Underworld follows up by showing vampires engaging in a battle that has been on forever with the Lycans, the werewolf clan. A vampire orphan Selene (Kate Beckinsale) becomes the violent killer. The Lycan leader Lucian seems to be killed by Vampire Kraven, giving the vampires the upper hand, but our protagonist Selene keeps going after Lycans. During a battle with the Lycans, Selene learns that the Lycans are after Michael Corvin(Scott Speedman), who happens to be a mortal doctor. Selene discovers that Lucian, the leader of the Lycan is still alive while trying to save Michael.

    This leads Selene to suspect that Kraven misled her about Lucian’s passing and that he may be working together with the Lycans. Elder Viktor is awakened from his sleep by Selene to warn him of Kraven’s betrayal, but because he is upset over being awakened so early, Viktor ignores Selen’s warning.

    Later, Selen manages to apprehend Lycan scientist Singe, but the Lycans are still able to abduct Michael. Viktor gathers an army to kill all the Lycans, including Michael, when Singe confirms Selen’s assumption about Kraven and explains the mystery surrounding Michael’s kidnapping. Michael discovers in the Lycan lair that Lycans were originally vampire slaves, and that the conflict started when they rebelled against vampires and battled for their freedom. Michael suffers severe injuries in the ensuing conflict, and Selen bites him to save his life.

    When Viktor tries to strangle Michael, Selene betrays Viktor and stabs him to death. Now an enemy to both the Vampires and the Lycans, Selene and Michael flee together. The movie encircles deceit, clashing feelings, and betrayal which makes the truth seem unclear to Selena and leads her into breaking hard protocols to save her vampire race.

  2. Underworld: Evolution

    Streaming On: Can be rented from – Apple TV, Youtube, VUDU

    Director: Len Wiseman

    Writers: Len Wiseman, Danny McBride

    Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, Shane Brolly, Steven Mackintosh, Derek Jacobi, Bill Nighy

    Genres: Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror

    Underworld: Evolution (2006) on IMDb

    The second movie, Underworld: Evolution, released after three years, is directed by Len Wiseman. It shows Selena(Kate Beckinsale) and a traitor werewolf (Scott Speedman) are truly in love but they learn that clan members hate them. While finding out ways to end the rift between their clans, they are being chased by an ancient creature Marcus (Tony Curran) who only wants war between them. It shows these lovers go on a quest to know about their distinct pasts and look for what their destiny holds for them. The elder who has been awakened, Markus, gives the order to kill Kraven. Markus discovers a portion of a pendant while looking over Viktor’s corpse; the other portion is with Michael.  Markus tries to kill Selene and Michael to get the other half, but they manage to get away.

    Selene remembered seeing the pendant in her dream when she woke up the following morning, but she couldn’t recall what it represented. To find out the purpose for Markus’s desire for the pendant, the two go to see exiled vampire historian Andreas Tanis.

    The three sons of the first immortal Macaro are described by Tanis to the two, including how one of the sons plotted to imprison the other in a hidden prison. Tanis also reveals that her father built the prison, and the pendant is the key to it, with Selen’s blood having the Prison’s location imbued in her blood.

    When they try to persuade Macaro, he declines to harm his boys. As soon as he arrives, Markus impales Macaro to death and consumes Selene’s blood to learn the location of the prison.

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    In the final battle against Markus and William, the duo manage to win and Selene discovers after the struggle that Alexander’s blood gave her hybrid qualities, such as immunity to sunlight’s harmful effects on vampires.

    Evolution does a great job of solving mysteries that the previous movie sets up while creating more storylines to explore further in another sequel.

  3. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

    Streaming On: Can be rented from – Apple TV, Youtube, VUDU

    Director: Patrick Tatopoulos

    Writers: Len Wiseman, Robert Orr, Danny McBride

    Stars: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux, Craig Parker, Larry Rew

    Genres: Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror

    Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) on IMDb

    Released in 2009, Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans is directed by Patrick Tatpoulus. The movie follows up after 20 years have passed since the onset of the war between werewolves and vampires. Two decades had passed since the first werewolf clan, a breed incapable of taking human form, and an army of vampires began battling. Lucian is the first werewolf to be referred to as a Lycan as he is the first to be born with the capacity to take on a human form. 

    The vampire elder Viktor nurtures Lucian, and during this time, Sonja, Viktor’s daughter, and Lucian grow closer in secret. One night, Lucian overcomes the barriers preventing him from turning into a werewolf and protects Sonja from his werewolf brothers. 

    Despite knowing that Lucian saved his daughter, Viktor cannot forgive the escape and has Lucian tortured and imprisoned. Sonja helps Lucian escape with other Lycans, and Sonja herself decides to escape three days later.

    When Viktor finds out that Sonja helped Lucian escape, he imprisons her. While Lucian is going around freeing slaves and building an army against the Vampires, so to get Lucian back Viktor uses Sonja as bait.

    When Lucian tries to rescue Sonja, he is captured by Viktor. Hoping to save Lucian’s life, Sonja reveals that she is pregnant. The Vampire council sentences Sonja to death by exposure to the sun, in front of Lucian.

    Enraged, Lucian summons an attack on the vampire and stabs Viktor before throwing him into a nearby waterbody. In the end, Viktor appears to have survived his wound and is placed in an elder sleep chamber by Tanis on a vampire ship that is leaving the fort.

    A prequel to all the movies released before it, Rise of Lycans shows how the world of its successors came to be and why it is so. The movie shows the backstory of previously established characters that we have come to love.

  4. Underworld: Endless War (Parts I-III)

    Streaming On: Netflix

    Director: Juno John Lee

    Writer: Jon Schnepp

    Stars: Laura Harris, Trevor Devall, Brian Dobson, Paul Dobson, Mark Oliver

    Genres: Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror

    Underworld: Endless War (2011) on IMDb

    Underworld: Endless War is a 3 part animated series with a total running time of 18 minutes. In the first part, Selene is sent out to eliminate three Lycans who are impersonating local Lords. The other brothers laugh at the elder brother Darius’s warning about Selene’s presence and attempt to engage Selene head-on. Darius saves the other two as Saleen proves to be too much for the three to handle during the fight. The younger brothers, Vergis and Krandrill, promise vengeance on the vampires before running away.

    In part 2, Selene makes a comeback to look into the two surviving Lycan brothers 80 years later. As soon as Krandrill notices her, he and Vergis begin to scheme. The two appear during the ceremony to ruin it, assuming Selene was there as a guard for it. Vergis is slain in the fight, while Krandrill loses his left arm before running away. It’s only a matter of time before you join your brethren in hell, Selene warns Krandrill as he runs away.

    In Part 3, 45 years later, Selene returns with Michael to finish Krandrill off. Selene gets a tip from a contact, and Michael and her break into Krandrill’s hideout. Krandrill is killed after a fierce battle by Selene, who shoots him with silver bullets. She will soon be joining him and his siblings in hell, and her kind is now being hunted down, Krandrill says right before dying.

  5. Underworld: Awakening

    Streaming On: Can be rented from – Apple TV, Youtube, VUDU

    Directors: Måns Mårlind & Björn Stein

    Writers: Len Wiseman, John Hlavin

    Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Charles Dance, Robert Lawrenson, Sandrine Holt, India Eisley

    Genres: Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror

    Underworld: Awakening (2012) on IMDb

    Released 6 years after its direct prequel, Awakening is set 12 years after Evolution. In it, we follow Selene who has been frozen for 12 years, and how the discovery of superhumans has changed the world. The public and the government have become aware of these superhuman beings since the events of Underworld: Evolution. To harness the powers of these races, the purge begins which dwindles their numbers. Twelve years after being imprisoned in a cryogenic chamber, Selene escapes. Selene observes another escapee’s perspective while making an escape. Selene saves David and a frail girl from a lycan pack in the following scene.

    Following some brief rest and recuperation inside David’s Coven, the Lycans attack the coven. A Super Lycan knocks Selene out, and while she is unconscious, Selene hears Thomas, David’s father, offer the girl to the Lycans in exchange for their leaving them alone.

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    When Selene emerges from the coven, Sebastian, a human detective, informs her that Lycans have ties to Antigen, the organization assigned to eliminating vampires. They also operate the facility that Selene escaped from. To stop Lane and save the girl, who is revealed to be Selena’s kid.

    They refer to Selene’s daughter as Eve. After planning their strategy, Selene and Sebastian invade Antigen. When the Lycans discover her, Selene is forced to leave Michael behind and flee with Eve. Michael’s tank is empty when Selene, Eve, and David return to it following the final battle. Knowing that they will be seeking Michael, the group promises to find him before the rest of the world.

    “Awakening” explores the concept of how the world would change if superhumans were discovered and how others could exploit that. This movie shows that even emotions are humanity’s strongest weapon and how they can even overcome superpowers.

  6. Underworld: Blood Wars

    Streaming On: STARZ, DIRECTV

    Director: Anna Foerster

    Writers: Kyle Ward, Cory Goodman

    Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Lara Pulver, James Faulkner, Charles Dance, Oliver Stark, Dasiy Head

    Genres: Dark Fantasy, Action, Horror

    Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) on IMDb

    Directed by Anna Foerster, Blood Wars is the latest addition to the Underworld franchise. Kate Beckinsale returns to play her role as Selene. This movie explores how the different factions of the vampires and Lycans are hunting Selene. While the Lycans are after Selene for her unique blood, the last few vampires are seeking her out to take their vengeance for slaying Viktor. Selene begins preparing a regiment for the upcoming warfare after reaching an acceptable plea agreement with the Vampire Council. Later, Selene’s allies Semira and Varga poison her and massacre the regiment while blaming her for everything.

    Semira begins drawing Selene’s blood as she is being held captive. Thomas and David successfully save Selene, but Thomas does not make it out alive. Selene takes refuge in a different coven run by Alexia where Alexia reveals that David is the Elder Amelia’s son and an eastern coven heir.

    The commander of the Lycans, Marius, learns Selene’s location through Alexia, his lover. Marius then asks Selene where Eve is but gives up when she admits she doesn’t know. Selene declares “My time is done” as she drowns herself in the lake’s cracked ice because she is tired of being taken advantage of. Semira kills Alexia after consuming Selene’s blood, claiming she was aware of her connection with Marius.

    When David shows up at the coven, he introduces himself as the new leader and deposes Semira, leading to her imprisonment. Selene reappears when the Lycans attack the coven, this time more powerful, and quickly eliminates them.

    Semira and Marius form a team, but David and Selene ultimately defeat and murder them. In the aftermath, David, Lena, and Selene are chosen as the new Elders. It is revealed that Selene was reunited with Eve, who had been following her mother through their psychic link, after her resurrection at the Nordic Coven, just as she had predicted.

    Themes of mystery, family, betrayal, and evolution are heavily explored in the movie and act as a good ending to the franchise. The character arc of Selene is completed and a completely new society has been established.

All Underworld Movies In Chronological Order

Since the Underworld movies were released out of their chronological order, some past events aren’t explained till a later movie. So to understand the story of the franchise better, given below is the recommended and chronological order of all the movies.

  1. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
  2. Underworld: Endless War – Part I (2011)
  3. Underworld: Endless War – Part II (2011)
  4. Underworld (2003)
  5. Underworld: Evolution (2006)
  6. Underworld: Endless War – Part III (2011)
  7. Underworld: Awakening (2012)
  8. Underworld: Blood Wars (2017)

All Underworld Movies According To Highest To Lowest IMDb Ranking

  • Underworld (2003) – 7.0 by 277K votes
  • Underworld: Evolution (2006) – 6.7 by 204K votes
  • Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) – 6.5 by 164K votes
  • Underworld: Awakening (2012) – 6.3 by 158K votes
  • Underworld: Endless War (Parts I-III) (2011) – 6.1 by 1.7K votes
  • Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) – 5.7 by 78K votes

Underworld Movies According To Box Office Collection

  • Underworld: Awakening (2012) – $160.1 Million
  • Underworld: Evolution (2006) – $113.4 Million
  • Underworld (2003) – $95.7 Million
  • Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) – $91.4 Million
  • Underworld: Blood Wars (2016) – $81.1 Million
  • Underworld: Endless War (Parts I-III) (2011) – NA

Conclusion

The Underworld franchise, which was released over a 14-year span, has amassed a sizable cult following. In this business, the idea of a large-scale conflict between the hunters and the prey has been around for a while, and the Underworld franchise has perfected it. 

It’s thrilling and entertaining to see the overconfident vampire switch from being the hunter to being the hunted. The viewer is better able to comprehend the character’s motivations and justifications for their actions once the backstory is revealed. The Underworld movie series is ideal for anyone craving some top-notch vampire films.

FAQs

How Many Underworld Movies Are There

There are a total of six Underworld Movies. All the Underworld movies in release order go as follows- Underworld (2003), Underworld: Evolution (2006), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), Underworld: Endless War (Parts I-III) (2011), Underworld: Awakening (2012), Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

Are There 5 Underworld Movies?

There are five full-length Underworld films in total. In addition to the five live-action films in the series, there is also a trilogy of animated shorts combined into the 18-minute film Underworld: Endless War. Underworld: Endless War is also considered to be a movie so it all adds up to six movies.

Is Selene The Most Powerful Vampire?

Yes. As of the latest movie, Selene has become the most powerful vampire alive. Due to having Alexander Corvinus’ blood, Selene is referred to as “the Purest Vampire” and is one of the most potent vampires at the time of the Blood Wars, after her Nordic powerup.

Is Underworld 6 Happening?

Even though co-creator Len Wiseman briefly discussed developing an Underworld 6 after the release of Blood Wars and series actress Kate Beckinsale was allegedly open to returning, nothing ever came of it.

Kierra Rowsey
Kierra Rowsey

Kierra Rowsey is a freelance TV, Film and anime critic for over 12 years, living in Arkansas with her husband and three kids. She graduated from NYU College of Arts & Science in 2008.

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