It feels like it’s been forever since movie screens were graced with The Meg. The movie that had Jason Statham pitted against a giant prehistoric shark was about as wild, and as ridiculous, as that description sounds, but The Meg grossed a half billion dollars at the global box office and so a sequel was quickly greenlit. Now, five years after the first movie debuted, the sequel is finally getting ready to go in front of cameras.
According to KFTV, Meg 2: The Trench is the movie Jason Statham will be working on next as it will start shooting at the UK’s Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden next Monday, January 24. The studio has two large water tank sets, one exterior and one on a soundstage, that are expected to be used for the bulk of the action. The first film did most of its shooting in New Zealand.
The original film starred Jason Statham as a former deep sea diver, who is enlisted to lead a rescue mission deep in the Mariana Trench. While the rescue is ultimately successful, it also sets free sea creatures previously believed extinct that have been surviving in the deep water for millennia, among them, the titular megalodon shark.
Is that plot synopsis more than a little silly? Yes, yes it is. However, the movie was largely able to balance its over the top plot with tense action in a way that audiences clearly enjoyed as they turned out in a big way for the film.
The original movie was based on a novel by author Steve Alten, and there are six other novels in the franchise, with another announced. The second book in the series is also called The Trench so it would seem the new movie will be at least inspired by the second novel though that is not confirmed. The book deals with the destruction of a geologic survey ship that was investigating the Mariana Trench. Once again, Jonas Taylor, the character played by Jason Statham, is drafted into service.
The first book was adapted into a screenplay by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber and the same trio has tackled the script for the new movie as well. Ben Wheatley will be taking over as director from Jon Turteltaub.
Since there were clearly fans who loved the first movie there are sure to be those who are excited to learn that the second movie is on the way. The long delay reportedly had more to do with finding a good script for Meg 2 than it did any pandemic related delays. Hopefully if the cast and crew are happy with the story they have, fans will be too. Meg 2: The Trench doesn’t have an official release date yet but with shooting starting now we can expect it to arrive early next year.
