After being stuck in development for quite some time and going through the hands of several different filmmakers, the giant shark movieMegis in the can and will be coming out next year. The movie is based on the 1997 novel of the same name, which was written bySteve Alten. The author recently opened up about the movie adaptation. And outside of praising what is on the way, he made it clear that the movie has a budget as big as the sharkJason Stathamis going to be doing battle with.
Steve Altenrecently spoke withiHorroraboutMegand revealed that Warner Bros. apparently has a lot of confidence in what will essentially be a massive, action-packedB-movie. According to the author,Meghas a budget of $150 million and will have a lot of top-notch resources being poured into it, and it will apparently be pretty scary. Here is what he had to say.
“It will be edge-of-your-seat scary…First and foremost, this is not just a shark, it’s a Megalodon, the most fearsome predator in the history of the planet…which just happens to be a prehistoric version of a 70-foot Great White. Add to that the best special effects houses in the business, a $150 million budget, great script, an international cast of top stars…led by the perfect guy to play Jonas Taylor,Jason Statham.”
2016 proved that audiences will turn out to watch sharks torture humans. And based on whatSteve Altensays, this will be a scary spectacle.The Shallows, which starredBlake Livelyand saw her trying to live through agiant sharkattack, grossed $119 million worldwide from just a $17 million budget. That should be encouraging for the team behindMeg, but it is kind of hard to imagine the movie grossing what it needs to to justify a budget of that size, which is what a big superhero movie typically costs. Still,Steve Altenseemed quite confident inMeg, even though he hasn’t seen any footage.
“Filming completed in New Zealand and China in mid-December. I have not seen any footage other than what has been posted on Instagram but I understand everything looks amazing.”
Megcenters on a man named Jones Taylor (Jason Statham) who discovers a Megalodon (which is where the name comes from), a giant prehistoric shark that was thought to be extinct. People think he is crazy, until a group of people becomes trapped in a submersible at the bottom of the Mariana Trench following an attack from an unknown beast. Jones then has to risk his life to try and save the group and prove the Megalodon is indeed alive. The movie was originally going to be directed by horror legendEli Roth, but he exited the project before production.Steve Altencouldn’t say why that was, but he had nothing but nice things to say about the director.
“I can’t say much on the Eli Roth situation other than I have great respect for Eli as a director and the decision had nothing to do with his abundant talent both behind and in front of the camera. Plus, he’s into sharks for all the right reasons. I am crossing my fingers that he will direct another adaptation of mine.”
Jon Turteltaubwound up in the director’s chair forMeg, who is best known for theNational Treasuremovies. He is directing the film from a screenplay byDean GeorgarisandJon Hoeber&Erich Hoeber. The movie starsJason Statham,Suyin,Cliff Curtis,Rainn Wilson,Ruby Rose,Winston Chao,Page Kennedy,Jessica McNameeOlafur Darri Olafsson,Robert Taylor,Sophia Shuya CaiandMasi Oka.Megis set to hit theaters on July 06, 2025.
