<P> In a June 2006 interview, Wiseman said, "The third film is going to be a prequel . It will be the origin story and we find out things we didn't know about Lucian; he'll have a much bigger part in it . It will be about the creation (of the races) and what started the war . It will be a period piece . The movie will also focus for the first time through the Lycans' point of view ." The director also shared, "In terms of the writing, a lot of the writing has been done . We've been developing Underworld 3 for a while . I won't be directing Underworld: Rise of the Lycans; I'm just going to be producing and writing ." When asked if Kate Beckinsale would reprise her role as Selene in the prequel, Wiseman said, "It will be in the time period before, but it will overlap into the creation of her as well . We're in the process of seeing how far we go with that ." The following October, actor Michael Sheen, who portrays Lucian in the film series, expressed interest in being part of the prequel . </P> <P> The Hollywood Reporter announced that the film would be written by Danny McBride and mark the directorial début of Patrick Tatopoulos, who designed the creature effects for all three Underworld films . Len Wiseman would produce, and contribute to the writing of this film, but would not direct, nor would Kate Beckinsale reprise her lead role of Selene nor would Scott Speedman reprise his role of Michael Corvin . In late September 2007, Outlander screenwriters Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain were brought on board and delivered a draft on November 3, mere days before the 2007 - 2008 Writers Guild of America strike . Pre-production began shortly thereafter . </P> <P> The film was shot in Auckland, New Zealand . There was some additional shooting in Roxboro, North Carolina, and there is a brief pickup shot of Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park as well . </P> <P> Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was distributed to 2,942 theatres on its opening day (23 January 2009) in the United States and grossed an estimated US $8,050,000, debuting at number 1 at the box office . On its opening weekend, the film was ranked second at the box office behind Paul Blart: Mall Cop with $20.7 million, which is lower than the amount earned by Underworld and Underworld: Evolution ($21.8 million and $26.9 million respectively) on their opening weekends. 59% of the audience at the premiere was male, while 55% was over 25 years old . Overall, the limited day - and - date launch of Rise of the Lycans in the week ending 23 January 2009 accumulated $3.5 million in two dozen markets outside the US, at 455 theatres, a third of which was earned at the Australian box office . In the United Kingdom, the film was distributed to 339 theatres and obtained $1.4 million at the box office on its opening day, ranking as the second - best opener of the week behind Valkyrie . As of 26 April 2009, the film has grossed an estimated $45,802,315 in North America and $91,085,163 at the box office worldwide . </P>

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