Kate Beckinsale will always be Selene, the Vampire Death Dealer, in the Underworld series. However, Beckinsale could’ve been decked out a golden armor suit if she had said yes to another role. Beckinsale revealed that she was offered the chance to play Diana Prince/Wonder Woman earlier in her career. While it is hard to imagine anyone other than Gal Gadot dodging bullets and fighting justice, it’s not far-fetched that Beckinsale would’ve been able to pull it off brilliantly.
Kate Beckinsale’s Decision To Stick With Underworld
In 2017, Beckinsale claimed that back in the mid-2000’s there talks of her portraying the demigoddess. The actress stated that Warner Bros. wanted to bring the DC character to the big screen with the film directed by Joss Whedon. Though the project didn’t happen, Beckinsale did read the script and admitted it wasn’t anything close to the 2017 film.
Beckinsale also explained that she didn’t know if she could wear another skin-tight costume. “I don’t know if I was desperate to be in a leotard. I’d already done the rubber trousers,” she said. “You have to take in that you have a child at some point and how much could you possibly embarrass them,” Beckinsale jokingly commented.
In a separate interview with Vogue, Beckinsale was asked about almost playing the superhero. “Yes, there was a period of time, a long time ago, when [producer] Joel Silver was involved with it. But it worked out beautifully. That was a wonderful film that Gal [Gadot] did,” the actress had stated. When asked if she had any regrets about turning down the part, she claimed not to.
“No. It would have been a terrible movie based on the script that I read,” she explained.
Underworld Vs. Wonder Woman
Underworld spawned four sequels and one animated film. The film series began in 2003 with the last film, Underworld: Blood Wars released in 2016. While series received negative reviews overall, it gained a very large following. In all, the six films have grossed $539 million at the box-office. Wonder Woman was released in 2017 and received overwhelmingly positive reviews and grossed over $821 million at the box-office and the sequel to the movie, Wonder Woman 1984, which will be released later this year is also expected to be a huge hit. While there has been talk about future Underworld films, Beckinsale has stated she won’t be a part of them anymore. “I wouldn’t return. I’ve done plenty of those,” the actress stated.