We’re still a few weeks away from “Meg 2: The Trench” hitting cinemas, but already the film’s director Ben Wheatley has an idea of where to take the giant prehistoric killer shark franchise next.
The new film serves as the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster starring Jason Statham. This time out, Statham is joined by Wu Jing as the characters lead a daring research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean.
Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival – pitting them against multiple colossal Megs and relentless environmental plunderers.
Wheatley (“Free Fire,” “High-Rise,” “Kill List”) takes over from “National Treasure” helmer Jon Turteltaub who directed the first film which grossed $530 million worldwide off a $130 million budget.
Speaking to Total Film recently, the director is optimistic about the franchise going beyond this:
“You don’t want to talk about it until Meg 2 is out, but I hope [to see a third installment]. There’s a lot more to explore in that world. It’s very rich. The international-ness of it is very interesting.
What’s so smart about the first film is that it’s not Rush Hour. It’s not East-meets-West, ‘Oh, we’re all confused about each other’. It’s just people working together, and being in an everyday adventure, and the people just happen to come from places all over the world. I think that’s good for audiences, and it’s a good message as well.”
Li Bingbing, Page Kennedy, Shuya Sophia Cai and Cliff Curtis return from the first film and are joined by Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Sienna Guillory and Skyler Samuels.
Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris penned the script. “Meg 2: The Trench” hits cinemas on August 4th.