The Heat Vision Blog reported yesterday that John Hlavin, a writer from the series The Shield, has signed on to write the script for Underworld 4.

They’re also reporting that Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films and poster girl of the franchise has yet to sign on and they do not have a director. However, Hlavin does confirm that the film is a sequel and that it will definitely appeal to fans of the first movies.

Check out what Hlavin says below which definitely hint at the fan-favorite character making a return.

The nominees have been announced for the fourth annual Scream Awards, held every year by Spike TV. The decisively more “fan-friendly” award ceremony (compared to the Oscars) honors films from the sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic-book genres of movies, TV shows and comic books. The awards are described as, “the first and only global event of its kind,” to honor those genres.

The Scream 2009 nominees were chosen by the Advisory Board of Hollywood and Genre Leaders, a list which this year includes the likes of Wes Craven, Roland Emmerich, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, Eli Roth and Zack Snyder, plus many more. The event will be taped on Saturday, October 17th this year at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and will air on Spike TV ten days later on Tuesday, October 27th (check for local times).

Along with the awards, the show will also be airing some exclusive, world premiere of footage of some of the most anticipated movies of 2010! Presenters and musicians for the event are to be announced shortly.

This week in movie news the Underworld franchise is making a big splash. From news of a fourth movie in planning that would move the franchise into the 3D trend, to an update that Screen Gems is looking to launch a second full trilogy, it looked like Underworld would be around for a long time.

The rumored plan is that the new trilogy would hopefully bring back Kate Beckinsale’s character and now it seems we may be very close to getting confirmation that the star of the franchise will be back in the fan-favorite role as the death-dealing vampire, Selene.

If you thought the news of Underworld 4 coming our way in 3D was a surprise, how about the idea of an entire new trilogy of Underworld films!

According to Ryan Rotten at ShockTillYouDrop.com, insiders have informed him that Sony’s Screen Gems is looking to launch not one new film, but three. Interestingly, the report claims that they’re looking at the story centering in on the character of Selene, played by Kate Beckinsale in the original two Underworld films.

Some franchises never stop. Even after rounding off the trilogy with a prequel earlier this year, it’s not so surprising that the Underworld series is reportedly set to pop out another film during the current pop-culture vampire craze.

According to ShockTillYouDrop.com’s exclusive, Sony’s Screen Gems is planning to make a fourth installment in the Underworld franchise… and it’s going to be in 3D.

Here we have a few new posters for your viewing pleasure, including the very firsts for Fast & Furious and Land of the Lost.

Land of the Lost is a comedy which follows a forest ranger and his two kids who mistakenly end up in the land of dinosaurs (and other creatures). It stars Will Ferrell, Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) and Danny R. McBride (Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder).

A few weeks back I wrote about a pile of new movie posters and that pile included the first official poster for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Here we have the second official poster for the prequel of the vampire franchise thanks to UGO.

The first poster featured Bill Nighy who reprises his role as Viktor, a leader of the vampire nation. This new poster features new-to-the-series Rhona Mitra (of Doomsday fame) who plays Sonja, daughter of Viktor of whom the story focuses on.

Today we have a pile of new posters we’ve been collecting throughout the week from a variety of sources.

These include the final poster for The Spirit, the first posters for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and new posters for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Lost: Season 5, Red Sonja, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

That’s a lot of posters!

Apple has released the first official trailer for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and if you enjoyed the first two Underworld films, then you’re in for a treat!

Rise of the Lycans is the third Underworld film in the franchise but is a precursor to the last two installments representing an origins story leading up to the events of the first Underworld.

It’ll be a slight adjustment to see an Underworld film without the stars of old; Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman as Selene and Corvin, respectively. Replacing the butt-kicking female leader we now have Rhona Mitra who plays Sonja, the vampire who fell in love with a lycan. Other than the two leads, the film is loaded with all the familar faces of the prior two installments.