With five feature-length Underworld movies in the franchise, knowing the best order to watch them helps audiences better understand the storyline. The franchise was created by Len Wiseman, Kevin Grevioux, and Danny McBride, and the movies were released between 2006 and 2016.
The Underworld film series centers around an age-long conflict between vampires and lycans (ancient werewolf species). Most of the films revolve around the Death Dealer Selene. Watching the Underworld movies by release order leaves several unanswered questions along the way. If you’re looking to watch or revisit the Underworld movies, the best order to watch them is chronologically.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
By release order, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the third installment in the Underworld film series. It was released theatrically on January 23, 2009, and was created as a prequel/origin story. The Rise of the Lycans was also the first in the series not directed by Len Wiseman. To better understand the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires and Lycans, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the first movie to watch in the Underworld movie franchise.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is set in a dark, medieval world with vampires, led by the ruthless elder Viktor (Bill Nighy), ruling over the world and other lesser creatures. The movie focuses on the birth and rise of Lucian (Michael Sheen), a new breed of werewolf capable of transforming between human and wolf. Viktor raises Lucian with hopes that Lycans like Lucian would protect the vampire coven’s fortress during daylight hours and work as laborers at night.
Raised alongside Viktor’s daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra), Lucian and Sonja begin a forbidden love affair when they grow older. The tension builds as Lucian’s plan to escape the fortress with Sonja unfolds, but their love story takes a tragic turn when Viktor discovers it. Viktor, feeling betrayed by his daughter, sentences her to death, forcing Lucian to watch her execution. This heartbreaking moment cements Lucian’s resolve to destroy the vampire overlords. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans portrays Lucian’s transformation from a loyal servant into a fierce, rebellion leader.
Underworld (2003)
With a better understanding of the feudal origin between vampires and Lycans, it’s easy to understand Viktor’s bloodthirsty hatred for the Lycans. The 2003 Underworld movie is the first installment in the film series. Audiences are introduced to Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a skilled and fiercely loyal Death Dealer. As established in Rise of the Lycans, these Death Dealers are vampire warriors trained to hunt and kill Lycans. Selene, Viktor’s adopted daughter, also has a ruthless hatred for Lycans after being groomed to believe Lycans killed her biological human parents before she was saved and turned by Viktor.
In one of their missions in tracking Lycans, Selene discovers the Lycans are tracking and targeting a seemingly ordinary human, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman). Selene’s interest in Michael is piqued because Lycans usually avoid humans, meaning Michael is far more important than he appears. As the story unfolds, Selene discovers a shocking secret that forces her to question everything she’s ever known about vampires and Lycans. Having watched Rise of the Lycans, audiences will better appreciate the uncanny resemblance between Viktor’s daughter, Sonja, and Selene and why it was a logical reason to spare the young human Selene.
Underworld: Evolution
Released theatrically on January 20, 2006, Underworld: Evolution is the second installment and direct sequel of the 2003 Underworld film. Evolution begins as an origin story set in 1202. It introduces the three vampire elders, Markus Corvinus (Tony Curran), Viktor, and Amelia (Zita Görög), as well as William Corvinus (Brian Steele), the first werewolf, and their immortal father, Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi). Evolution is created as a prequel/origin story of vampires and a sequel to the events following the 2003 Underworld. By the end of Underworld: Evolution, Selene has hybrid abilities, making her immune to sunlight.
Underworld: Awakening
Most events in Underworld: Awakening occur 12 years after Underworld: Evolution. Underworld: Awakening was released theatrically on January 20, 2012. Vampires and Lycans are no longer secret and are being hunted by humans. Selene, who was captured for study, stayed frozen in a cryogenic suspension for 12 years. After being freed, she discovers her daughter, Eve (India Eisley), was responsible for her escape. However, Eve, a hybrid, is being pursued by surviving Lycans disguised as humans.
Eve is being sought to produce a new generation of Super-Lycans. Selene finds help from a vampire, David (Theo James), and a sympathetic human, Detective Sebastian (Michael Ealy). Although Michael doesn’t play a major role, he’s revealed to have also been captured and imprisoned in a similar cryogenic suspension. Although Selene initiates his release, Michael escapes the facility before she returns. With the human world in search of Michael, Selene, Eve, and David begin a mission to find him.
Underworld: Blood Wars
With no new Underworld movie in production, Underworld: Blood Wars is the last movie in the franchise and the last to be watched chronologically. Although it had an international theatrical release on November 24, 2016, Blood Wars was released in the United States on January 6, 2017. As a sequel, it follows the aftermath of its predecessor. Selene takes center stage again, forced to fend off brutal attacks from her vampiric kind and the Lycans.
With help from David and his father, Thomas (Charles Dance), she seeks to end the eternal war between the two supernatural species. Although Michael is revealed to have been killed by Lycan leader Marius (Tobias Menzies), Selene prevails in her quest. In the aftermath of the battle with the Lycans, Selene, David, and Lena (Clementine Nicholson) become the new vampire elders. With over seven years since the last Underworld movies release, here’s what the cast have been up to in their careers.
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