The Meg

The film stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Cliff Curtis.

In the plot, a group of scientists encounters a 75-foot-long (23 m) megalodon shark while on a rescue mission on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

Walt Disney Studios originally purchased the film rights to the novel in the 1990s, but the film spent years in development hell. The rights eventually landed at Warner Bros. Pictures, and the film was green-lit in 2013.

Turteltaub and much of the cast joined by September 2014. Principal photography began in October 2016 and lasted until January 2017, occurring in New Zealand and China. The Meg was released in the United States on August 10, 2018.

The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success, grossing over $530 million worldwide against a production budget of $130 million.

A sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, was released in 2023, with Georgaris and the Hoebers returning as writers and Statham, Curtis, Sophia Cai and Page Kennedy reprising their roles.

He is forced to flee and leave two of his crewmembers trapped in the sub, as attempting rescue would result in the deaths of everyone they have already saved. His story is dismissed by fellow survivor Dr. Heller, who denounces his actions.

Five years later, billionaire Jack Morris meets Dr. Minway Zhang at the underwater research facility Mana One.

Zhang and his oceanographer daughter Suyin supervise a mission to explore a deeper section of the Mariana Trench, previously concealed by a thermocline of hydrogen sulfide.

The submersible is piloted by Japanese scientist Toshi, American scientist “The Wall,” and Jonas’ ex-wife Lori. They are attacked and trapped by a large creature.

Zhang and Jonas’ old friend and Mana One operations manager, James “Mac” Mackreides, venture to Thailand to recruit Jonas, now a loner. Suyin attempts the rescue but is attacked by a giant squid that is subsequently killed by an enormous shark.

Jonas goes down to save the crew; Toshi sacrifices himself to the shark to help the others escape. The Mana One crew discovers that the giant shark is a megalodon or “meg”, a prehistoric species of shark previously believed to be extinct.

When they realize the meg pursued them past the thermacline, they resolve to kill it, knowing modern humans are unequipped to deal with such an ancient creature.

After Jonas marks it with a tracker, Suyin enters a shark-proof tank to shoot the meg with poison, which successfully kills the creature.

In their moment of triumph, a second, larger meg (revealed to be the one they encountered in the trench) emerges, devouring The Wall. It critically wounds Dr. Minway Zhang and Dr. Heller sacrifices himself to save a fellow crewmember. Dr.

Minway Zhang dies on the way to rescue. Back at the station, Morris lies that he has informed all neighboring governments about the meg, and has sent destroyers to torpedo the shark.

However, he secretly enlists a mercenary team to kill the meg with depth charges. The team fails and Morris is eaten by the meg. The Mana One crew learns that Morris lied and no one is coming to help them. They decide to kill the meg themselves.

The meg attacks a crowded beach in Sanya Bay in China. Jonas manages to wound the beast with his submersible and stabs it in the eye; its blood attracts a shiver of modern sharks that devour the dying meg.

As Jonas reunites with the rest of the crew, a passing meg is heard, suggesting that more than two escaped the trench.