There are 50 scripts out there somewhere, 50 episodes of a TV series that most fan boys can’t wait to see. The Star Wars live action show has been discussed for years, Lucas has the scripts ready but is waiting for technology to be cost effective enough to make a show that looks like the prequel trilogy every single week.

That is a daunting goal, and requires a bit of a waiting period while the world of digital effects catches up. In the mean time small tidbits about the show keep getting dropped like bread crumbs leading us through the forest. In a recent sit down with IGN, Rick McCallum let slip that the working title of the show is Star Wars: Underworld.

What we know so far about the show, is that it takes place in the twenty year gap between Episode III and Episode IV and will revolve around bounty hunters. This is a very intriguing concept for a show, showing the rise of the Galactic Empire from the perspective of the criminals who thrive under it’s rule. It is also very encouraging to hear McCallum discuss the darker nature of the scripts.

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We all know how tame and watered down vampires have become these days. Sure, we’ll get some cool moments in True Blood when fangs are popped and blood is drawn, but that’s only in between the other 50 minutes of romance, sex and melodrama. And let’s not even begin to think Twilight has any kind of vampire bad ass moments.

The one constant is that the Underworld series has always looked good, and had enough guns and leather to come across as a Matrix spinoff. So why wouldn’t we get another sequel amidst the vampire/werewolf hype happening today? Good news, we do.

The premise is a bit tame, but we don’t expect much of a story when the first thing we see in the trailer is a nude Kate Beckinsale.

Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

Of course, you’ll get the expected lines like “something else escaped” and “it’s more powerful than anything we’ve ever fought”. Why? Because why not. Leather + machine guns + Vampires = a good time.

Check it all out in the trailer after the jump. See Underworld 4: Awakening 3D in theaters January 20th.

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Vampires may be yesterday’s Zombies, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t look cool while wearing leather and killing werewolves. Luckily enough, that means it’s time for another installment of the Underworld series.

There was a nasty rumor that Kate Beckinsale wouldn’t return for this sequel a while back, but that was immediately quashed. Here’s what we can expect to see from the plot, courtesy of Bloody Disgusting.

“After being held in a coma-like state for fifteen years, vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale) learns that she has a fourteen-year-old vampire/Lycan hybrid daughter, Nissa, and when she finds her they must stop BioCom from creating super Lycans that will kill them all.”

So basically, this is Kill Bill with leather-bound vampires and scary werewolves. We aren’t complaining, but do they think this was an original idea? Let’s hope so, as Sheild writer John Hlavin and comic favorite J. Michael Straczynski are taking on the script.

Catch Underworld 4: New Dawn in theaters in both 3D and 2D on January 20th, 2012.

Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Otherwise, on to the links!

• You asked for it, (or maybe you didn’t). Either way, here’s the list of the Top 10 Most Ridiculous Character-Branded Products.

• If you find yourself asking if a poster would be too nerdy to put in your room…Chances are you probably know the answer.

• If you caught last night’s Community, then you’re most definitely going to want to go back and read the Twittersodes leading up to the airing. Trust us.

• In prepping for his epically animated Owl Fighting movie, Zack Snyder admits that he had people dress up in owl suits to choreograph the fight scenes.

• Katy Perry recorded a spoof of her song and sang it alongside Elmo on Sesame Street. The song was immediately pulled from the episode before airing. What’s the world coming to when a girl can’t sing about kissing other girls on a show with Muppets?

• A student dressed like The Hulk smashed a car and is now getting in trouble for it. The real crime? The fact that there wasn’t a camera rolling the entire time.

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As summer dies down with explosive fire power and spiritual journeys to other lands, I recall the glorious action fest that was The Expendables. In turns out Julia Roberts has nothing on protein packed men with a mission on their minds. My female counterparts have voiced their love of meaty men in droves and unexpectedly taken away business from Julia’s love fest. Nearly 40 percent of The Expendables‘ audience was women. X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘s audience raked them in as nearly 50 percent of the audience was female. It seems women have tired of the boys akin to Michael Cera and instead jones for something with a little more muscle. Stallone should have learned the key to Hugh Jackman’s success to driving women in throngs- taking off his shirt.

I hear Hugh gave up his lead in Avon Man to start his insane work-out to become the ferocious mutant once again. If you take months upon months to beef up like these 80‘s action legends did, you’d think they’d want to show it off. Plus, wasn’t it super hot in Louisiana and Brazil where The Expendables shot? It was like 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Stallone couldn’t have been the only one who was feeling the heat.  Take off those shirts and up your female movie-going audience to 51 percent.

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The remake none of us were waiting for, and that has been rumored for a year, has finally been made official today. You will soon once again be seeing Total Recall at a movie theater near you.

Columbia Pictures officially announced Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld films) as the director for the project. It has been report that he will be working off a script written by Kurt Wimmer, who recently wrote Salt and Law Abiding Citizen. Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents over at Columbia Pictures, stated that negotiations are almost finalized.

The original Total Recall, was based on the immortal Philip K. Dick’s story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. The original follows Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Quaid who is a seemingly unsophisticated construction worker, who is haunted by a recurring dream of journeying to Mars.

He buys a literal dream vacation from a company called Rekall Inc., which sells implanted memories. It turns out he is a freedom fighter from Mars who has been relocated to Earth, and he must restore order, and reverse the corrupt influence that commercial powers had over the red planet.

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While Universal is ramping up their marketing for the upcoming Wolfman reboot, and Summit is rolling around in giant piles of cash thanks to angsty teen vampires, there are still a few classic monster franchises left to be tapped. That’s where Lakeshore Entertainment and Death Ray Films come in.

The studios have teamed up and optioned the comic book I, Frankenstein, originally written by Kevin Grevioux. The book mashes up the genres of classic movie monsters with crime noir in an epic miniseries. In the book, Frankenstein’s monster has learned to control his anger and now stands as the only hope for humanity against an army of supernatural forces. Meanwhile, Dracula is a kingpin of crime and the Invisible Man lives his life as a secret agent.

With Universal and other studios revving up their use of the latter two franchises, you can expect them to not make the final cut, and focus on Frank. The film has been on the shelf for nearly a year, until genre studio Lakeshore Entertainment, who presented other cult faves as Gamer and Underworld, recently purchased the rights to turn I, Frankenstein into a film.

Original creator Grevioux, who penned all of the Underworld films will be taking on the script, while Patrick Tatopoulos, who directed the same, will be stepping in to direct. Production is set to begin this July, but there hasn’t been any rumblings as to who could play the gigantic green detective. Our choice? Tony Danza Mickey Rourke.

Long before vampires glittered (Twilight) or were battling werewolves (Underworld) they were hanging out in backwater towns and convincing teenagers they were eating maggots instead of noodles (Don’t worry, it was kind of like the vampire version of a Jedi mind trick). For those who don’t get the reference, I’m speaking of vampire cult film The Lost Boys.

It’s been more then twenty years since The Lost Boys came out and to give you an idea of how different vampires were back then, here’s the tag line from the original film: “Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire”. Yes, being a vampire was “fun”, especially when the only real threat was a couple of comic book geeks who claimed to be vampire hunters.

It took 21 years for The Lost Boys: The Tribe, a sequel to this classic film to come out, but only a year later for the third installment to start production. Dario Piana is set to direct The Lost Boys: The Thirst which will be shot in South Africa. Based on a script written by Evan Charnov, the new film will focus on at least one of those geeky vampire hunters, Edgar Frog played by Corey Feldman:

“When veteran vampire hunter Edgar Frog finds himself destitute and almost friendless, he thinks his live has hit bottom – but wealthy vampire-romance novelist Gwen Liebling offers him a small fortune to go on the vampire hunt of a lifetime and rescue her son Peter from the Alpha Vampire D.J.Dusk. With the help of his friends Zoe, Lars and Blake, Edgar heads into a bloody battle to exterminate evil.”

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The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Len Wiseman, whose past credits include Underworld and Live Free or Die Hard and who is currently prepping the live-action Gears of War, has signed on to develop and direct a film adaptation of the graphic novel Shrapnel for Radical Pictures.

Shrapnel, which was teased last year during Comic-Con by Radical Publishing, describes a sci-fi future where humans have colonized the solar system and have formed a Solar Alliance to govern all planets. The story focuses on Venus, the last rebellious holdout, where a self-exiled former Marine teaches the colonists how to fight back.

Wiseman stumbled upon the property while shopping for comics with his 10-year-old daughter, Lily. Soon thereafter, his agent at ICM was scouting the rights.

“I am really drawn to the reluctant-hero story,” said Wiseman, who noted that the last hero he directed — John McClane in “Live Free or Die Hard” — fit that archetypal mold.

Nick Sagan and Zombie Studios chief Mark Long created the property. Radical principal Barry Levine will produce with Wiseman and Mark Gordon. Long and Radical’s Jesse Berger will exec produce. Although Shrapnel is currently being developed as a live-action pic, a 3D approach could be possible. Zombie Studios is planning the video game.