The Underworld series has been on a steady decline since the first film, but I now find myself in the strange predicament of being very interested in the fourth film. THR tells us John Hlavin, who previously wrote for “The Shield” has just been hired to write the fourth installment in Screen Gems/Lakeshore’s “Underworld” franchise.

Len Wiseman directed the first two films in the series and will be producing the as-of-yet unnamed film. Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg and Richard Wright of Lakeshore will also be producing.

So far the fourth film has no director or stars attached but I think the foundation of a good movie is the writer. The Shield has gotten rave reviews and I’ll be interested to see if Hlavin can bring some of the magic of The Shield to this sagging franchise.

Hlavin said the plot is under wraps, “but I can tell you it’s not a prequel.” He added, “It will satisfy old fans and excite new audiences, meaning that we don’t want to redo the first three movies, so steps are being taken to honor what fans have loved but at the same time introduce fresh elements.”