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The Meg International Trailer Hints At Jason Statham's Revenge Mission
Jason Statham is out for blood - namely, giant shark blood - in a new international trailer for The Meg. The Meg is based on a series of popular novels by author Steve Alten, but the project has been trapped in development hell for well over a decade. Filmmakers such as Jan de Bont (Speed) and Eli Roth have attempted to tackle the beast, but the project never seemed to catch a break.
The Meg has finally broken free, however, with Jon Turteltaub tackling the $150 million blockbuster and Jason Statham playing the man hunting the shark down. The story involves Statham's navy captain Jonas Taylor being tasked with saving some scientists at the bottom of the ocean, where they're being menaced by a 75 ft shark dubbed The Megalodon, a species long thought extinct.
Early plot details for The Meg hinted Statham's character had encountered the giant shark before on a fateful mission, and the beast itself sports an impressive facial scar. Now a new trailer for The Meg debuts exciting footage of the shark, and further teases Statham's connection to the beast, especially with the line, "They may have encountered the same species you did down there."
Giant monster movies have proven to be a surprisingly robust genre in recent years, as seen by the success of Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island. Warner Bros is clearly hoping for similar lightening to strike with The Meg and are happy to sell it as a cheesy b-movie. The shark attack movie has also made something of a comeback thanks to the success of The Shallows and 47 Meters Down, so a film combining the best of both genres should be - at the very least - a fun time at the movies.
Adding a personal motive to Jason Statham's rescue mission should add some entertaining Moby Dick vibes to the story too, and fans are still holding out hope the movie will feature a scene where the actor punches the shark. If the movie does well, Warner Bros has a lot of novels to draw sequel material from too. The question remains if it will draw in a big enough crowd to warrant a franchise because while The Meg certainly looks like a blast, it's essentially a silly creature feature will a bigger than average budget.
