The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 20% based on 86 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Underworld: Blood Wars delivers another round of the stylized violence that the series is known for, but – like many fifth franchise installments – offers precious little of interest to the unconverted." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 23 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
On August 27, 2014, Lakeshore Entertainment announced their plans to develop a reboot of the Underworld franchise, with Cory Goodman hired to write the script for the first film. Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi were named as producers. The film was later confirmed to be a fifth entry in the series, rather than a reboot. Titled Underworld: Next Generation, the film was in production and set to be released 2015. Theo James, who appeared in the role of David in the fourth film, would return as the new lead. On October 12, 2014, Director Len Wiseman told IGN that original Underworld lead Kate Beckinsale would be back for the film. On May 14, 2015, Anna Foerster signed on to make her directorial debut with the film, being the first woman to direct the film in the series, with Beckinsale confirmed to return. On August 14, it was announced by Deadline.com that Tobias Menzies had been cast as Marius, a mysterious new Lycan leader. On September 9, Bradley James was cast as the male villain. Same day, newcomer Clementine Nicholson signed on to play Lena, the Nordic Coven's greatest warrior and daughter of Vidar. On September 22, Lara Pulver was added to the cast to play a fiercely ambitious Vampire. On October 19, Charles Dance was confirmed to return to play Vampire elder Thomas. Additional cast was also announced which included James Faulkner, Peter Andersson, and Daisy Head.
Principal photography on the film began on October 19, 2015, in Prague, Czech Republic, and was set to take place over ten weeks. The film's crew included Cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub, production designer Ondřej Nekvasil, costume designer Bojana Nikitović, and Editor Peter Amundson. Filming wrapped up on December 11, 2015.
Initially the film was set for an October 21, 2016, release. After announcement about release delay, the film's earliest release date became November 24, 2016, when the film was released in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan, followed by December 1, 2016, release in various countries such as El Salvador and Australia. It was released in the U.S. on January 6, 2017.
Alexia, who is secretly Marius's lover, tells Marius that Selene is going to the Nordic Coven. Marius and the Lycans attack the Nordic Coven. The Nordic vampires, led by Vidar's daughter Lena, fight alongside Selene and David. Selene engages in single combat with Marius, who demands to know Eve’s location. Selene insists she does not know the location, which Alexia confirms after tasting some of Selene's blood. Marius sounds the retreat for his troops and Selene, wishing to pass on to the sacred world, slides herself under the now-broken ice of the lake.
